"Car dealerships have been operating from parts of the site since the early 1970s, not surprisingly given its huge frontage to such a busy arterial road," says Davidson.
"But this is unlikely to be the case for much longer with increased land values resulting in more intensive mixed use development around the CBD.
"The property is now under-developed in terms of both of its utilisation and return, with its City Centre zoning allowing for a wider range of commercial and or residential uses up to a height of 19m."
Bayleys Tauranga commercial sales manager Mark Walton says about 70-80 people, including key developers, attended the auction. And each of three commercial Tauranga commercial properties advertised, went under the hammer. "This demonstrates a strong interest in commercial property and development sites in rapidly growing Tauranga."
Further north, one of Whangarei's largest commercial auction transactions was also concluded with the sale of the Otaika Shopping Centre in Raumanga for $3.8m.
The well-known property located on a 2799 sq m site on SH1 at southern entranceway to the city was sold at a 6.84 per cent yield by Bayleys Whangarei agents John Haselden and Neil Campbell. The 1270sq mfully leased convenience retail complex with 60 parking spaces was built in the 1960s and expanded in the 1970s. It has eight tenancies, with five 10-year leases running until 2027-2028.
In Auckland, the highest price fetched was $3.93mfor a 756sq m corner store in the Lincoln North Shopping Centre at 192 Universal Drive, Henderson.
The store, which underwent a major renovation earlier this year, was sold at a 5.73 per cent yield on its current lease to Super Cheap Auto NZ until July 2016 with annual fixed three per cent rent increases. The deal was brokered by Matt Lee, James Chan and Quinn Ngo of Bayleys Auckland international division in conjunction with Terry Kim and David Han of Bayleys North Shore.
Two properties in Pt Chevalier's town centre were also sold at the Auckland auction. An underused 696sq m site with redevelopment potential zoned Business-Neighbourhood Centre at 350 Point Chevalier Rd sold with vacant possession for $1.87 at a land value $2686 per sq m through John Procter and Alan Elliott. It previously housed a greengrocer's store on its road frontage for over 50 years.
In Pt Chev, a long standing fruit and vegetable shop of 345sq m in a retail complex with plenty of onsite car parks at 1110 Great North Rd sold for $1.55m. Leased to PTC Fresh NZ for five years from December 2016, with two five-year rights of renewal, it sold for $1.55m at a 6.99 per cent yield through Nicholas Ching, Quinn Ngo and James Chan of Bayleys' international division.
Attracting the strongest bidding competition in Auckland was a small unit opposite the anchor Tai Ping supermarket tenancy in the Rosedale Retail Centre which sold for $890,000 at a 4.22 per centyield through Eddie Zhong, Steven Liu and Meng Heof Bayleys North Shore Commercial.
The auction of the 73sq m shop, with just under 13 months to run on its lease to a health supplements and souvenir retailer, was brought forward a week after the vendor accepted a pre-auction offer of $750,000 which became the declared reserve. Strong bidding from six parties then pushed the final sale price up a further $140,000 before the hammer finally came down.
Elsewhere in the country, both properties put up for auction in Rotorua sold, all three Wellington industrial offerings went under the hammer and six out of seven properties in an industrial development in Sockburn, Christchurch also sold individually at a total value of $6,355,000.
Meanwhile, other properties to sell in the northern North Island included:
• Unit 7, 162-178 Wairau Rd, Wairau Valley: A 45sq m unit at the rear of Wairau Junction retail complex sold for $550,000 at a 5.56 per cent yield through Andrew Lin, Bayleys South Auckland and Ranjan Unka, Bayleys North Shore. It has a four-year lease to Persia Kebabs from July 2017.
• Unit D, 18 Ashfield Road, Wairau Valley: An industrial unit comprising a 110sq m ground floor and 30sq m storage/mezzanine area, with a month-by-month tenancy, sold for $440,000 at $4000 per sq m through Trevor Duffin, James Yu and Matt Mimmack, Bayleys North Shore.
• A206/44 Courthouse Lane, Auckland CBD: A 45sq m unit in Chancery Square leased to a property management company sold for $380,000 at an 8.82 per cent yield through Mike Adams and Jean-Paul Smit, Bayleys Auckland.
• 272A State Highway 2, Bethlehem, Tauranga: A 305sq m two-level commercial building on an 809sq m site with a high profile SH2 frontage sold for $1.26m at a 4.98 per cent yield through Myles Addington, Bayleys Tauranga. A pharmacy has the anchor ground floor tenancy with a smaller dental tenancy above, both on renewed leases until 2021.
• 66 Koromiko St, Judea, Tauranga: A 1519sq m standalone warehouse/workshop building on a 2536sq m industrial site sold for $1.8m at a 6.78 per cent yield through Graeme Coleman of Bayleys Tauranga. Paramount Stainless has recently renewed its lease for three years.
• 40-42 White St, Fenton Park, Rotorua: a 746sq m 1980s industrial building on a 1370sq m site sold for $865,000 at a 6.32 per cent yield through Mark Slade and Brei Gudsell, Bayleys Rotorua. It has three leases, with an anchor auto tenancy on a new five-year term.
