Mixed bag offered by Linz
Land Information NZ is managing the sale of about 368 surplus Crown properties, mostly in regional areas.
A further 953 are properties being kept for treaty settlements, with identification of the properties only accessible to iwi.
The total value of properties on the current disposal list is about $86 million, excluding the reserved iwi properties.
A few within proximity of recreation areas, have proved attractive to buyers.
They include a large number of old school houses, courthouses, former police or prison staff residences in out-of-the-way places and often in regions in economic decline.
An extreme example is 11 Williams Ave, Ohura, in the central North Island, which has a rateable value of $1000.
Harcourts agent Jo O’Callaghan, said most of Ohura became a ghost town after the former prison was closed.
‘‘Many of the houses are falling down there because they’ve been abandoned. In some cases you can still see dishes in the sink and personal belongings, but the people have gone.
‘‘There are also some good homes there and valuable farm properties, but many buildings in Ohura township are condemned,’’ said O’Callaghan.
A better prospect is a commercial property at 76 Main St Upper Hutt, which is currently being offered back to the original owners.
Others include the old Marshlands School at 329 Prestons Rd in Christchurch City, Crown-thorpe School Hastings, and the Tarras schoolhouse in Central Otago, all at different stages of disposal.
Linz has a handful of accredited real estate agencies helping with the complex sales process, including Darroch, Opus, The Property Group, and APL Property.
Glen Steele, a Darroch agent, said the ones he had dealt with were typically former school properties.
But like Jeff Reidy of APL Property, he was guarded about discussing specific properties because of the strong requirements for complete transparency in the sale process.
When a property is identified as surplus, Linz obtains ministerial consent, the land title, advises iwi if appropriate, and identifies any heritage, conservation or marginal strip values.
If the property is in Auckland, Linz must contact Housing New Zealand Corporation and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to decide if the property can be used for housing.
Other Crown agencies or local authorities may also request the property.
In some cases, Linz must offer to sell the property back to the person it was originally bought from or their successor, based on the property’s current market value.
If the property is identified as part of a possible treaty settlement, Linz must give iwi a right of first refusal or apply the Ma¯ori protection mechanism and the Office of Treaty Settlements may buy it for future settlements or heritage protection.
These processes may take two years before the property is placed on the open market and it must be advertised for 20 working days before offers are considered. The benchmark, or reserve price, is generally the rateable value of the property.
Some properties earmarked for disposal attract controversy. In 2014 land in Raumanga occupied by community service providers were upset at plans to demolish a pool and buildings ahead of an offer back to iwi.