Strong interest in rare development opportunity north of Auckland city
One of the last substantial landholdings earmarked for future development along Auckland’s northern corridor has been placed on the market.
Located in Wainui, Longburn Farm comprises 191ha of rural land currently used for grazing animals but with a future urban development zoning over a substantial portion of the property.
“This offering represents one of the last remaining genuine development opportunities of scale in northern
Auckland, following the urbanisation of nearby Orewa, Red Beach, Silverdale and Millwater,” says Ryan Johnson, Bayleys national director commercial and industrial.
He is marketing the property with Bayleys North of Auckland commercial director Ben Clare and Bayleys Silverdale senior commercial broker Graeme Perigo.
The property is for sale by tender, closing Tuesday 1 March 2022, unless sold prior.
Bordered by Wainui Rd to the south and Upper Orewa
Rd to the north, approximately 1.5km west of SH1 and the Wainui off-ramp, the offering comprises 12 individually titled lots.
Directly neighbouring the property’s southern boundary is Milldale, a 300ha master-planned project being developed by Fulton Hogan to support approximately 4500 new dwellings expected to house some 10,000 new residents.
Infrastructure to service the community includes a town centre, schools, a retirement village and local neighbourhood centres.
Clare says the sale is expected to attract interest from large-scale developers and land bankers who recognise the potential for a possible master-planned residential community akin to Milldale.
The property features almost 62ha zoned Future Urban, defined under Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan as an area suitable to support the development of new suburban centres. This includes the provision of schools, healthcare premises, parks, roads, public buildings and public transport services in addition to housing development.
“As Auckland continues to undergo unprecedented urban growth, Longburn Farm presents a unique opportunity to acquire one of the largest potential greenfield residential development sites within the city’s boundaries,” Clare says.
He says a further 129ha currently zoned Rural Production provides additional potential for development in the longer term.
“The new owner could seek a private plan change through Auckland Council to rezone the land, a large proportion of which has a contour suitable for residential development.”
The Auckland Future Land Use Strategy identifies the vast expanse of land stretching from Dairy Flat in the south to Orewa in the north, close to SH1, as an area set to accommodate some 35,000 dwellings in the next decade.
“Thousands of homes at various stages of development have been snapped up by house hunters, and there continues to be strong demand for land and housing in this area,” Graeme Perigo says.
Johnson adds Auckland’s northern corridor is experiencing a high level of development activity across all property sectors and is expected to continue to grow strongly in the medium and long term.
“Infrastructural upgrades aided by the government’s $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund, technological advances and a more agile workforce underscore investment interest in the residential development sector here,” he says.
Mark Macky, owner and director of Bayleys in the North, notes Auckland’s location on an isthmus naturally encourages growth in its northern and southern regions.
“New roading and infrastructure along with record population growth has given investors confidence to move their focus north, and development is taking place across the property sector on a significant scale,” he says. “With Kiwis continually crying out for more housing options, there’s heightened competition for available land, particularly on the prized urban fringes closer to motorway and infrastructure access where opportunity exists as well for the creation of commercial and industrial hubs to service a growing new residential population.”
While Auckland’s northern boundary is an emerging focus area for investors, Graeme Perigo says identified developable land is scarce, and held tightly by key players savvy to the flow-on effects of recent residential growth.
“Residential land values rose some 30 per cent year-on-year in 2021 and despite an easing of urban land use controls, competition for available sites remain heightened by supply-demand dynamics.”
“As Auckland’s population is set to exceed 2.4 million by 2047 we expect this significant land parcel will set developer tongues wagging,” he adds.