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Colliers International has just released their November commercial property research report of New Zealand.

Significant property sales in the main centres, so far in 2009, have reached $1.16 billion, 22% ahead of 2008’s total of $942 million with a month to go. This is the total of retail, industrial, office and mixed commercial use sales over $2 million. Auckland’s total is well up on 2008, Wellington is slightly up and Christchurch is down.

The number of high end sales, rather than the total value referred to above, gives another insight. For example in Auckland in 2007 there were 112 sales over $5m, which reduced by half to 56 in 2008 and back up to 76 year to date in 2009.

While much less than the annual investments over 2004 to 2007 what is remarkable is that this has been achieved in the absence of any significant buying by overseas or local listed entities. The activity is all down to private investors encouraged to come into the market by a combination of reduced prices, unattractive alternative investments, and increasing confidence in tenants’ ability to pay their rents in the future. Private investors continue to show enthusiasm for the sector, most recently at the successful Farmlands and Edi Downer auctions in the last couple of weeks.

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