Property Investment By Degrees As University Student Residences Placed On Market

A substantial block of student accommodation dwellings leased to the University of Waikato have been placed on the market for sale.

The enclave of dwellings adjoining each other in Tauranga’s central city fringe suburb of The Avenues comprises eight units – with each dwelling containing between three and nine-bedrooms.

Located at 20A – 20H Mayfair Street, the block of low-maintenance single level and two-storey residences are exclusively leased to the University of Waikato for student accommodation. Mayfair Street is adjacent to Tauranga Harbour and is zoned suburban residential under the Tauranga City Council plan.

The portfolio consists of a trio of three-bedroom units, a pair of four-bedroom units, a five-bedroom unit, a seven-bedroom unit and a nine-bedroom unit. The student dwellings range in size from 74 square metres up to 223 square metres – delivering a total of 977 square metres of accommodation.

The collective is fully leased to the university through until 2021 with one further two-year right of renewal - generating annual gross rental of $365.560 per annum inclusive of GST. The leases contain rental review clauses in 2021.

The stratum in freehold block is now being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Tauranga, with the tender process closing on March 5. Salespeople Brendon Bradley, and Lynn Bradley said the portfolio was only being sold as complete package, and would not be broken down into smaller parcels.

Brendon Bradley said the purpose-built units were constructed of coloursteel cladding and had recently been refurbished. Six of the units are on their own individual titles, with one of the three-bedroom and one of the four-bedroom dwellings sitting on the remaining title.

“The immediate suburban vicinity around Mayfair Street features an eclectic mosaic of property types and uses – ranging from mature residential homes and a new medium density residential complex, through to a camp ground and petrol station,” he said.

“The harbourside location was chosen for sustaining a student housing precinct as a frequently-serviced bus route with a bus stop at the end of Mayfair Street links into Tauranga’s central business district where the Waikato University campus is located.

“The timber-framed units on concrete pads are stand-alone homes – each with toilet, bathroom and communal dining room/lounge space for the individual residents. The front of the residences have been developed with off-street car parking spaces and landscaped gardens. The rear service area is fenced off from neighbouring properties.”

Combined, the student accommodation portfolio has a 2018 Tauranga City Council rating valuation of $3.875 million. The Mayfair Street units are operated by a professional property management agency on behalf of the owners.

“Factoring in the substantial population growth evidenced by Tauranga over the past six years - combined with the resulting pressure this has placed on the city’s housing rental stock - the physical structure of the Mayfair Street block, and its scale, mean it has the fundamentals for a positive medium to long-term future,” Brendon Bradley said.

“Waikato University can of course negotiate to continue its leasing of the units through the lease rights of renewal, while there is also the longer-term opportunity for any new owner to look at diverting the properties into social housing rental accommodation or occupation by the general rental market.”

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