Market shakes off Covid

The commercial and industrial property market is trading through the current Covid 19 lockdown restrictions with barely a hiccup with the Bayleys commercial team on track to have one of its best years ever.

Bayleys national director commercial and industrial Ryan Johnson said that sales and leasing revenue for the first half of the current financial year was already nearly 75 per cent of the previous full financial year to March 31, 2021.

“Nationally, we concluded close to 1700 commercial and industrial transactions worth $2.6 billion from April to the end of September, more than double the value of deals done in the same six months of last year.

“Real estate agents are by nature an optimistic bunch but even we are finding these sorts of numbers quite staggering, particularly when you consider that Auckland – which comprises a large component of the market – was in lockdown from midAugust for just over six weeks of the first six months of this financial year, mostly in full Level 4 lockdown when physical property inspections weren’t possible.’’

Alan Haydock, Bayleys’ leading commercial agent year-todate, said that the land sales market has been particularly active. He has sold close to $50 million worth of properties with development potential during the latest lockdown including a Jervois Road, Herne Bay property for $17.25 million, a Browns Bay site for $8.25 million and an Epsom site for $3.5 million.

“Purchasers of these types of properties are looking well beyond Covid because of the time it takes to get any development plans drawn up, consented and built.”