Waikato Business News December Recap 2020

CONVERSATIONS WITH MIKE NEALE
OF NAI HARCOURTS HAMILTON
Commercial Property -
What does 2021 have in
store for us?
As I write this article, we have just
had our last commercial and industrial
auction for the year, with eight
properties up. The only true test of the state
of the market is where properties have been
marketed widely and there is open transparent
competition, on a cash unconditional
basis – as we had on December 10. There
is always trepidation on auction morning,
usually after a restless night’s sleep wondering
about the outcomes and ensuring all
interested parties turn up.
This week we also had two deadline private
treaty sales end, both being sold at yields
or anticipated yields in the 5.0-5.5 percent
range – one being a childcare and office
building in Cambridge and the other being
a new industrial and office building at Ossie
James Drive at the Hamilton Airport. Totalling
over $4 million, this was a strong result,
but nothing prepared us for the eight auctions
that were about to take place (one of the largest
Hamilton has seen in recent times).
“The future starts today, not
tomorrow” - Pope Jean Paul II
The Outcome (in a little over an hour):
• More than 30 separate bidders over the
eight properties
• Over 130 combined bids were taken
from the floor
• 100 percent clearance rate, with all eight
properties selling under the hammer,
totalling in excess of $12 million worth
of sales on an unconditional basis (from
$585,000 to $3,332,000).
Mike Neale - Managing Director,
NAI Harcourts Hamilton.
The keys to this success?
• Our vendors entrusting us with in excess
of $35,000 in paid advertising
• A team of professionals who are
focussed, fully committed, understand
auctions and the obligations to
our vendors
• Where everyone contributes, whether
they assisted in listing the property,
had a buyer or one of the many under
bidders in the room. Every agent in
the office contributed and accordingly
every agent received a pay day prior to
Christmas
• One of the best, if not the best commercial
auctioneer in the game, John Abbott
(our thanks do go to him)
Anyone who attended the auction will attest
to the flurry of bidding that took place and
the fact that Hamilton is indeed now a place
of serious attraction for both investors and
owner occupiers. Yields ranged from 4.8
percent through to 6.9 percent
So what should we expect in 2021?
While both bank deposit and mortgage
interest rates are likely to remain at all
time historic lows for some time, it seems
reasonable to expect that we will see continued
strong demand for yielding assets –
this should inevitably lead to further asset
price inflation for those that own property
or other yielding assets.
VOCATIONAL
TRAINING
GATHERS PACE WITH NAMING
THE STORY THEN
October - The 35th largest tertiary organisation
in the world was officially named in
Hamilton on September 29.
Te Pūkenga was announced as the name for
the newly formed national vocational training
institute by Education Minister Chris Hipkins
on 29 September.
The name refers to the gaining and mastery
of valuable skills through passing knowledge
down from person to person.
Speaking at an event later the same day, institute
chair Murray Strong said the organisation,
which is based at Wintec House, will have a
lean HQ.
“But its scale and scope of this organisation is
probably not visible to most,” he said at the
gathering hosted by Waikato Chamber of
Commerce.
“There will be 240,000 learners for Te Pūkenga
around the country, there will be 10½ to
11½ thousand staff around the country and it
will be the 35th largest tertiary
organisation on the planet.”
Welcoming the development, Hamilton Mayor
Paula Southgate said the pitch made for Te
Pūkenga to be headquartered in the city was a
team effort.
“Hamilton City Council, Te Waka, the Chamber
of Commerce, Waikato-Tainui, Wintec, and
many other stakeholders - we did do something,
we made a conscious and deliberate
decision to make sure Te Pūkenga came here.
We worked on behalf of our city to make it
happen. And that's something that Hamilton
does very well.”
She expected Te Pūkenga to quickly become
well known as change came at pace.
“And I think that's good for the community,
because the sooner that we adjust to the new
model, and the sooner people have certainty
and can get stuck into building themselves
careers, the better in my view.”
The institute’s full name is Te Pūkenga - NZ
Institute of Skills and Technology.
The latest occupancy surveys for Industrial,
Office and Retail that we conduct
with CBRE Research, are about to be completed.
Indications are that they are likely to
show that the Hamilton and Waikato economies
have responded strongly since the
Covid lockdown.
While New Zealand is experiencing
strong permanent migration, the Waikato
seems to be disproportionately benefitting
from this immigration flow, from within
New Zealand and overseas. It’s been a tiring
year for many and while economists
predicted doom and gloom in late March,
the outcome has been almost the complete
opposite. As ANZ chief economist Sharon
Zollner said recently, economists’ role this
year has been to make the weather forecasters
look really good. There is likely to
be some pain to come yet, but it’s unlikely
to be anywhere near as bad as was initially
expected. It’s hard to see commercial
property values go anywhere but upwards,
although both purchasers and tenants are
likely to become more discerning in the
short term. On that basis, enjoy your time
with friends and family over the Christmas
and New Year’s break, and be thankful for
what we have.
Take stock of where you are at and
make plans for 2021 - then put those
plans into action, whatever they are.
NAI Harcourts Hamilton
Monarch Commercial Ltd MREINZ Licensed
Agent REAA 2008
Cnr Victoria & London Streets, HAMILTON
07 850 5252 | hamilton@naiharcourts.co.nz
www.naiharcourts.co.nz
204369AE
THE STORY SINCE
Since the official naming, Te Pūkenga chief
executive Stephen Town has welcomed on
board his executive leadership team and
selected a partner to co-design its operating
model to reimagine vocational education and
training.
He has also launched Te Pae Tawhiti – the
Institute’s Te Tiriti Excellence Framework; and
engaged ākonga/learners in a national research
project to understanding their needs.
Six new members of the executive leadership
team were officially welcomed into Te
Pūkenga on 2 November at Te Kōpū Mānia o
Kirikiriroa marae on the Wintec campus.
Based in Hamilton with Town are deputy chief
executives Dr Angela Beaton, responsible for
Delivery and Academic; Merran Davis, leading
Transformation and Transition; Tania Winslade,
leading Learner Journey and Experience; and
Vaughan Payne, who heads up Operations.
THE TE PŪKENGA LEADERSHIP TEAM,
FROM LEFT, DR ANGELA BEATON,
MERRAN DAVIS, STEPHEN TOWN,
WARWICK QUINN, TANIA WINSLADE,
VAUGHAN PAYNE AND ANA MORRISON.
Ana Morrison, who leads Partnerships and
Equity, will split her time between Hamilton
and Rotorua, and Warwick Quinn leads Employ
Journey and Experience from Wellington.
In November Te Pūkenga announced its
partnership with EY and EY (Tahi), who will work
with the Institute to facilitate the co-design of
its operating model.
Employers will soon have opportunities to
share their challenges with the vocational
education system as Quinn establishes his
programme of work.
8 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS - RECAP December 2020