Read the latest issue of NAI Market Leader here.

In this issue:

NAI Henderson opens

Harcourts National Awards celebrate the best of NAI

Cantabrians are renowned for being resilient, and this trait is abundantly evident in the real estate world.

Christchurch is the stand out performer of the 2012/2013 Harcourts National Awards.

Nine of the country’s Top 20 Sales Consultants came from the Christchurch area, including the number two and three rankings scooped up by Cameron Bailey of Papanui and Alison Aitken of Christchurch City. Alison was also the top Auction/Tender Lister.

Simon Rowland –Jones, from Christchurch City Commercial, takes the country’s top NAI Harcourts Sales Consultant award.

The top three property managers come from the Grenadier Accommodation Centre, Tracey Edwards, John Siebert and Murray Orr, as does Top Property Management Business Development Manager Brent Manderson.

Christchurch City won the office with the most auction/tender listings and Papanui and Fendalton also won Top Office awards for their overall revenue and revenue per consultant.

Christchurch Business Development Manager Chris Kennedy says in the city’s ever changing environment, salespeople have had to adapt and work hard to keep abreast of the market.

“Our market lost 10,000 to 15,000 houses. Our agents have to be aware of the environment. Every week the goalposts are shifted by the insurance companies or EQC, or there is a new announcement.

“No one is fighting it. What would be considered extremely difficult circumstances have become the new normal for Christchurch. Our team has embraced the new environment.”

Chris says Christchurch’s seven franchises and 22 offices are staffed by the very best, with excellent leadership and camaraderie helping them achieve the Christchurch sweep at the Harcourts National Awards.

Hayden Duncan CEO of Harcourts Group says offices in the region have achieved outstanding results in the past 12 months.

“Their success in difficult times reflects the quality of their skills, their mind-set and their use of the industry leading resources available to them through Harcourts. They’ve made a major contribution to our organisation and to their clients.”

Christchurch’s wins were celebrated at the 2013 Harcourts New Zealand Conference, which celebrated Harcourts’ 125^th birthday. Established in 1888 in Wellington by J.B Harcourt, the company has become New Zealand’s largest real estate group and is now exporting services and systems into 10 countries around the globe. Still privately New Zealand owned after 125 years, Harcourts is an iconic Kiwi business success story. www.harcourts.co.nz

Being a commercial property agent in Christchurch is not easy, however Simon Rowland-Jones has excelled in a city still in recovery and uncertain of its future.

Simon was named New Zealand’s top NAI Harcourts Sales Consultant at the Annual Awards 2012/2013. NAI is Harcourts’ commercial property arm.

He says despite a very difficult two years, he and his team have been busy working with developers, investors and previous building owners, with the majority of their sales in bare commercial land in the central city.

Simon says the biggest challenge for commercial property owners is in working out where the future of Christchurch is going. He sees his role as helping people understand how they can best use the land they have purchased for redevelopment or replacement buildings.

“While the Christchurch council has set out a blue print for the new city centre, you still have to look outside the box in terms of where your building is going to fit within the scheme of things. That is where our expertise pays off.”

Simon says he is passionate about bringing people into Christchurch to invest, and he is currently working with investors from Japan and Singapore.

“It’s not just about buying or selling. We facilitate deals and think outside the square to make things happen,” Simon says.

Hayden Duncan CEO of Harcourts Group says Simon’s success at a challenging time is tribute to his talent and professionalism.

“Simon’s market knowledge and strong negotiating skills work under the most demanding of circumstances. Congratulations and thanks to Simon for the contribution he has made to both Christchurch and Harcourts.”

Simon was honoured at the 2013 Harcourts New Zealand Conference, which celebrated Harcourts’ 125th birthday. Established in 1888 in Wellington by J.B Harcourt, the company has become New Zealand’s largest real estate group and is now exporting services and systems into 10 countries around the globe. Still privately New Zealand owned after 125 years, Harcourts is an iconic Kiwi business success story. www.harcourts.co.nz

It’s only been in operation for a year, but NAI Harcourts Hamilton is already proving a success, taking top billing at the 2012/2013 Harcourts National Awards.

The office stood out as New Zealand’s top NAI office for Gross Commercial Revenue and Auction/Tender Listings.

Managing director Mike Neale says Hamilton is experiencing a commercial resurgence, and in the 12 months since opening, NAI Harcourts Hamilton has completed in excess of 150 sales and lease agreements.

“Commercially Hamilton has had a fairly erratic five or so years, but in the past 12 months there has been some growth. At the moment you can see three or four cranes in the CBD and people are looking for opportunities. Add to this low interest rates and the recipe is right.”

The NAI Harcourts Hamilton team of nine consultants have vast local knowledge and are each a specialist in their own area.

“We do work differently from other offices. We have patches we specialise in and this means we are not trying to be all things to all people, which works well for us and our clients. In 95% of the deals we do we have two experienced agents on the deal sheet,” Mike says.

Mike predicts Hamilton’s commercial market will continue to grow over the next year.

“The first three months of this financial year have already been strong and we are looking to grow our market share. We also aim to move into commercial property management as soon as we can find the right people to join the team,” Mike says.

Harcourts Group NZ CEO Hayden Duncan says NAI Harcourts Hamilton has performed outstandingly and their record in gross commercial revenue and auction/tender listings is to be congratulated.

The NAI Harcourts Hamilton team was honoured at the 2013 Harcourts New Zealand Conference, which celebrated Harcourts’ 125^th birthday. Established in 1888 in Wellington by J.B Harcourt, the company has become New Zealand’s largest real estate group and is now exporting services and systems into 10 countries across the globe. Still privately New Zealand owned after 125 years, Harcourts is an iconic Kiwi business success story. www.harcourts.co.nz

View the latest issue of NAI Harcourts’ Market Leader by clicking here.

In this month’s issue:

• What’s Driving the Current Market?
• Phil O’Reilly Speaks at Client Evening

Around 3000 square metres of industrial land was bought or leased in Hamilton last year, a sign of strong growth in the city, commercial property experts say.

About 37,200 sq m of space was added to Hamilton’s industrial stock last year, an annual survey of industrial land compiled by NAI Harcourts and CBRE has shown.

In that time, overall vacancy levels dropped from 5.7 per cent in 2011 to 3.6 per cent, as about 3000 sq m of space was leased or bought.

“The city has a filling-up feel about it which is really good,” NAI Harcourts director Theo de Leeuw said.

“The filling-up is both owner-occupiers who are buying and taking advantage of the lower interest rate regime as well as tenancies expanding.”

De Leeuw said part of the growth was due to a squeeze on industrial space in Manukau and South Auckland which has seen a shift of focus for industrial companies now seeing Hamilton as a viable alternative.

“Hamilton is really becoming the next destination to do warehousing, manufacturing . . . and it has great proximity to other markets like Auckland,” he said. “We are getting enquiries from businesses outside the city who are looking for locations inside the city . . . a number of people are looking at Hamilton and the Waikato positively as a food bowl and being able to service that.”

Trends noted by the survey included a drift of industrial companies from Frankton to Te Rapa, but Frankton vacancies still fell by 1.3 per cent last year.

De Leeuw said new start businesses were taking advantage of Frankton’s established industrial strength and close proximity to the CBD.

Karl van Gisbergen, also a director at NAI Harcourts, said the number of large industrial leases signed on to between $100,000 and $250,000-a-year last year increased significantly.

“The activity is there at present and from the mood out there it certainly seems sustainable, we haven’t seen that since 2007 or 2008,” he said.

“It shows you that there are large companies looking to come to Hamilton, or to expand and reactivate development plans.

“Companies that have been sitting on their hands have finally decided that they are going to do something, they’re feeling the uplift.”

Monitored industrial building stock in Hamilton now measures 1.5 million sq m – about an eighth of the size of Auckland’s industrial market.

The industrial precinct known as Te Rapa North experienced the most industrial development last year, a total of 16,503 sq m, with the completion of large-scale projects such as the 2912 sq m Couplands Bakery building.

Stock volumes in Te Rapa South grew by 14,986 sq m over the year with new builds such as the 4124 sq m Perry Metal Protection factory.

Frankton saw a minor increase of 3106 sq m, but most of that was the addition of several industrial properties to the survey which are outside the Hamilton city boundary. All industrial precincts recorded an overall decrease in vacancy over the past year, with the largest improvement in Te Rapa South and North where vacancies more than halved.

Frankton has the highest overall vacancy rate at 5.8 per cent, down from 7.1 per cent.

The Te Rapa North precinct has the lowest overall vacancy rate at 1.3 per cent, down from 3.4 per cent, and the Te Rapa South vacancy rate fell 3 per cent from 5.4 per cent to 2.4 per cent. The survey identified 52 industrial-zoned sites that were vacant, which measured a total of 28.4 hectares, on the market and available for development, most of which are 0.5ha or less.

Frankton has 12.8ha of that vacant land, Te Rapa North has slightly less with 10.7ha and Te Rapa South has only 2.9ha free.

Six sites are available over 4ha, all within the Frankton precinct, and the largest space available is a 6.1ha block at 17-43 Gallagher

Waikato Times 13/03/2013

Journalist: KASHKA TUNSTALL;

NAI Harcourts new Viaduct Office team with Richard Laery, general manager, NAI Harcourts NZ (far right). From left: Rex Worthington, Ranjan Unka, Nick Wevers, Tatiana Fuentes, Richard Laery

NAI Harcourts has opened its new Auckland Viaduct office on Level One of Orcacom House at 32 Market Place occupying one of five floors within the building.

Nick Wevers, the new franchise owner of NAI Harcourts Auckland Viaduct, says he chose the location because it was close to the waterfront, has ease of access to the all the motorways and because it enables his team of four to be linked to all the main business hubs of Auckland.

The 259 sq m office has a mixture of open plan and closed office spaces with the fit out purpose-built to encourage the team communication in a collaborative and open working environment.

“With specially designed seating, up to twelve consultants can work at their stations but still remain closely connected as a team,” Wevers says. “A large boardroom and meeting room complete the specialised fit out for client privacy when needed.”

Having road frontage access the office sits within the block of the Viaduct’s Customs St West and Pakenham Street East.

In addition to Wevers the Viaduct team includes: Ranjan Unka who has been in commercial and industrial sales and leasing since 2007 and who also has over 15 years in sales and marketing; Rex Worthington with over 25 years’ experience in the real estate industry; and Tatiana Fuentes who is “well established and well-respected in the real estate industry.”

Richard Laery, general manager, NAI Harcourts NZ, says Wevers brings to the new office many years of expertise and an extensive background in commercial property, including his having been the CEO of a listed commercial property investment company.

“In the last 12 months, Nick has been involved in over $60 million dollars of commercial sales in a variety of locations around the North Island with several of these transactions being large format retail properties,” Laery says. “He has participated in several substantial transactions including representing the purchaser of a large CBD office building and advising private clients with property acquisitions and disposals. Nick is well known to many corporate and large institutional owners all around the country and also spent three years as National President of the Property Council of New Zealand.”

Wevers says his focus will be to deliver a professional service to clients in the commercial, industrial and leasing markets in Auckland and New Zealand while leveraging NAI Harcourts’ international network. “My intention is to grow a strong team and standout business that will service a wide range of clients,” he says.

Published NZ HERALD, Prime Assets 16 February 2013

The Government agrees with the Productivity Commission that housing can be made more affordable, and has embarked on a wide-ranging programme to make that happen, Finance Minister Bill English says.

The Government today issued its response to the Productivity Commission’s report on housing affordability.

“High house prices matter because many New Zealanders spend a large portion of their incomes on housing and that has helped fuel household debt and contribute to damaging imbalances in the economy,” Mr English says.

“In particular, high housing debt diverts money from more productive investments, contributes to New Zealand’s significant overall level of indebtedness and exposes taxpayers to growing demands for State assistance with housing costs.

“Those factors make it vital that housing becomes more affordable. In addition, projections suggest that many more homes will be required in coming years than are being built.”

Mr English warns that there will be no quick fixes and instead, work is needed in a number of complex areas and across multiple government, local government and private sector agencies to tackle issues that are deeply embedded.

Having carefully considered the Productivity Commission’s recommendations, the Government is today responding with a comprehensive work programme with four key aims:

The Government agrees with the Productivity Commission that housing can be made more affordable, and has embarked on a wide-ranging programme to make that happen, Finance Minister Bill English says.

• Increasing land supply – this will include more greenfields and brownfields developments and allow further densification of cities, where appropriate.
• Reducing delays and costs of RMA processes associated with housing – this includes introducing a six-month time limit on council processing of medium-sized consents.
• Improving the timely provision of infrastructure to support new housing – this will include considering new ways to co-ordinate and manage infrastructure for subdivisions.
• Improving productivity in the construction sector – this includes an evaluation of the Productivity Partnership’s progress in achieving a 20 per cent increase in productivity by 2020.

“Decisions made by local councils not only affect their local communities, but have wider effects on the economy and the Government’s books.

“Many of the changes that will make a difference lie with councils and the Government expects them to share the commitment to improving housing affordability,” Mr English says.

Some of the programme is already well advanced, with work under way in the Building and Construction, Environment and Local Government portfolios.

Other recommendations from the Productivity Commission require more detailed exploration and the Government has asked for more work to be done on specific policy proposals including:

• Whether Building Consent Authorities can be consolidated in a regional or national hub.
• The possible establishment of a competitor agency for resource consents/plan changes.

In addition, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment will undertake a market-level inquiry into the construction sector to identify barriers to improving housing affordability.

More work will also be commissioned on the specific problems of the Auckland and Christchurch housing markets.

Mr English says the current economic climate, as well as projections of housing need, make it more important than ever for the housing market to function efficiently.

“Our response to the commission’s report also reinforces our existing programme aimed at reducing New Zealand’s vulnerability to foreign lenders, and removing economic imbalances caused by a disproportionate investment in housing.

“If implemented fully, today’s announcements on housing affordability will reduce housing stress and enable the housing market to better meet the needs of middle and low income New Zealanders,” he says.

Related document:

Housing affordability responses by recommendation (pdf 115.33 KB)

View the latest NAI Harcourts Market Leader by CLICKING HERE

In this issue….

Budding commercial market

Quality commercial properties with long-term leases remain in demand around Auckland while activity starts to pick up in the Northland region.

Exciting times for NAI Harcourts Whangarei

The sun is shining around Whangarei in many ways for the all new NAI Harcourts Whangarei team

Commercial going green

LED lighting, green walls, water collection…Could the commercial property market be making moves toward sustainability sooner than we think?