As supply-demand pressure on Auckland’s commercial and industrial property edges buyers and occupiers further outwards,
emerging hotspots are experiencing a demonstrable halo effect with values rising.
Ryan Johnson, national director commercial and industrial for Bayleys said infrastructural upgrades, technological
advances, a more distributed workforce, a perpetual search for value and the appeal of commercial and industrial
property as a well-performing asset class has driven the Auckland halo effect.
“All compass points of the super city have really started to shine, and perception of distance has condensed. Regardless
of location, ‘build it and they will come’, seems to be the narrative,” he said.
Across the Harbour Bridge, Daniel Henderson, general manager Bayleys North Shore Commercial, said the North Shore is
bulging at the seams.
“There’s very little available within the existing built environment and as large-scale corporate occupiers seek
efficiencies from well-located integrated facilities, finding bigger buildings has been a mission.”
Henderson said a new within-region economic triangle has been created with the North Shore, West Auckland and Silverdale
at its points, and including Kumeu which is poised to become a sizeable fringe suburb of Auckland.
“Silverdale has been redefined with significant residential and commercial growth pushing the settlement north and south
of its traditional village core and we can’t keep up with demand for commercial and industrial space.
“We’re seeing rents increasing, vacancy levels dropping away before our eyes and investor dollars circling – it’s a
bouncing ball that is being followed Auckland-wide.
“The broader Silverdale-Wainui-Dairy Flat area will undoubtedly be one of Auckland’s key growth nodes in coming years as
the hunt for commercial and industrial opportunities continues, but finding suitably-zoned land will be the handbrake.”
Further north, Chris Blair who leads the commercial and industrial business for Bayleys in the wider Warkworth,
Matakana, Wellsford and Mangawhai areas, said roading investment is further opening up opportunity for investors and
developers thwarted by shortages elsewhere in the region.
“While there is a real appetite for investment, it’s a somewhat fragmented marketplace with much of the existing stock
being tightly-held by individuals over a long period of time and new players wanting to get a foothold on the back of
residential growth,” he said.
Blair said Warkworth’s new motorway links will further amplify the appeal of the area, saying every point a motorway
arterial touches creates opportunity.
“Land supply, however, is excruciatingly tight with only scattered pockets of identified developable land and nothing of
any real scale, so pressure is building up in the system.”
Just over an hour north of Auckland, Mangawhai Central is a new 130-hectare master-planned precinct intended to offer
scale and opportunity across the market in the geographical gap between the traditional heads and village of Mangawhai.
The planned precinct will comprise a town square, retirement village, boutique retail stores, food and beverage outlets,
supermarket, medically-aligned services, a service zone (light industrial), and childcare facilities – along with a
range of residential development sites.
Meanwhile, at Auckland’s southern edge, the former farming community of Pōkeno, now part of the Waikato region, is
definitely feeling the halo effect.
It had a resident population of 2,517 at the 2018 Census and growth is projected to reach around 12,000 by 2045.
Bayleys’ national director industrial, Scott Campbell, said the town has changed beyond recognition and did not suffer
‘death by highway’ when State Highway 1 bypassed the town some years ago.
“Large residential developments to the north and west of the village are proving popular and the village itself is
undergoing a transformation with Woolworths NZ recently opening its new 3,000sqm Countdown store, and a new fire station
under construction to serve the recent urban expansion of the area.
“Dairy companies Synlait and Yashili have large operations in Pokeno, and there’s the 80-hectare Gateway Business Park
proving that locations near the Bombay Hills are very much on the cards for development dollars.”
Around 25km further south, the rural town of Te Kauwhata, with a population of around 1,500, is bracing itself to become
the “Hobsonville Point of the south” with estimates quadrupling its resident numbers.
Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities has entered into a partnership with developers Winton in Te Kauwhata and it is
projected that the town will become a sizeable dormitory suburb with its residents working in Drury, South Auckland,
Huntly or Hamilton.
Mark Fourie, Bayleys Pukekohe, is marketing the Winton-led master-planned development Lakeside, and said around 70
percent of enquiry is coming out of Auckland, roughly 25 percent from Hamilton and the balance from outlying areas.
“As with Pokeno, once the buildings start going up and the street lights get turned on, the sleeping giant will awaken.”
Another 12km down the road, the Comfort Group’s proposed $1.2 billion Sleepyhead Estate manufacturing and housing
community at Ohinewai, has been given the green light by district planning commissioners in Waikato with its new
Sleepyhead factory under construction and expected to create up to 2600 new jobs.