Apartments only in the CBD? Absolutely not! Research shows Auckland’s apartment numbers outside the city centre are set to overtake the CBD

New research by CBRE shows that apartments outside Auckland’s central business district will soon outnumber those within it. Associate research director Tamba Carleton said Auckland’s CBD currently has 21,253 apartments, while the number outside the city centre has surged to 20,604. Carleton said the number outside the city centre would overtake the CBD’s apartment stock in five weeks. This means Auckland is moving towards becoming a city with denser housing and more apartments.

 

 

Northcote’s recently completed

apartments number as many as 214

 

This month, NZ Living’s Shane Brealey announced an upcoming NZ$90,000,000 development on Greenslade Cres in Northcote. He said most of the homes had sold within three minutes of their launch in 2021. He attributed their popularity to the difficulty of finding properties priced at just NZ$500,000–600,000 each in Auckland, where the median house price exceeds NZ$1,000,000.

Northcote’s Greenslade Cres apartment development: artist’s impression

 

2021: Northcote apartment development sells out within 3 minutes of launch

 

According to Carleton, NZ Living’s Greenslade Cres development forms part of a programme comprising 872 apartments. Across the 9 buildings on this street, previously owned by Kāinga Ora, about half of the development, comprising 129 apartments, was offered through public tender. Of these, 56 apartments were developed under the Government’s KiwiBuild programme, while 31 were offered for sale on the open market.

 

As part of the Auckland Unitary Plan, Kāinga Ora has also demolished older housing blocks on state housing development land to build thousands of new apartments, meeting New Zealanders’ growing housing needs.

 

Since 2018, the Government has increased investment in apartment developments, with the number of projects under construction consistently ranging from 30 to 35.

 

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Many other developers have also joined the apartment construction effort. Carleton expects 141 apartment developments to be completed in Auckland between this year and 2025. Of these, 28 developments will deliver around 872 apartments across 20 different suburbs. Kāinga Ora’s 9 developments include 4 in Mangere, with others in Northcote, Manurewa, Glenfield and Mount Wellington. She emphasised that Auckland faces a wave of apartment completions: 131 developments due to be finished before 2025 will deliver around 7070 apartments in total. These include 119 apartments in Avondale due for completion next month, 97 in Manurewa, 53 in Browns Bay, 48 each in Orewa and Glenn Innes, 46 in Papakura, 36 in Mt Albert, 34 in Glenfield, 21 in Mt Roskill, 19 in Howick, 15 each in Mangere East and Remuera, 13 in Meadowbank, 12 in Pukekohe, 11 in Papatoetoe, 10 in St John and 5 in St Heliers.

 

 

Private property developer Ockham Residential, led by Mark Todd, has completed 762 apartments since its establishment in 2009. A company spokesperson said 481 apartments would be completed and handed over during 2023, helping effectively address Auckland’s housing shortage.

 

 

The company reportedly plans to develop hundreds of new apartments on the former Unitec site in Ōwairaka, Mt Albert. Marutūāhu iwi chair Paul Majurey said the organisation was working with Ockham to name the development area beside Unitec and the former Carrington Hospital Maungārongo. The partnership plans property development over the next 20 years in the wider Te Auaunga area, with Marutūāhu, Wairohua-Tāmaki and Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei participating jointly.

 

 

Luxury apartment developments gain ground

 

 

Among the many apartment developments springing up across Auckland are several luxury projects. Developer Richard Kroon’s new NZ$150,000,000 apartment development on Victoria Ave, Remuera, is due for completion in October. Kroon said the five-storey building would contain 23 apartments and 52 basement parking spaces. Named Victoria Lane, it sits on conveniently located Victoria Ave, with direct access from the building to Remuera Road.

Auckland apartment developments under construction costing more than NZ$1.2 (data: NZME)

 

More luxury apartment developments are being built at pace in Auckland’s CBD, including the NZ$200,000,000, 56-storey Seascape development on Customs St East by China’s Shundi Group. On completion, it will become New Zealand’s tallest building at 187 metres above ground, 9 metres taller than the NZ$300,000,000, 52-storey Pacifica building a street away. Research shows that the area from Auckland Art Gallery to Britomart on Queen St, including Wynyard Quarter, has become a focus for local and overseas investors seeking returns. The urban rail project, involving investment of more than $4,000,000,000, has further spurred these developments. More major projects, such as Mansons TCLM’s NZ$650,000,000 Fifty Albert and Shundi’s Seascape, are rising near the rail route.

 

Reflections on Auckland’s surge in apartment numbers

 

 

 

1. Changing trends in Auckland’s property market: As Auckland house prices have soared in recent years, buyers’ needs have also changed. Developers need to consider how to adapt to the changing market and create more appealing developments. Investors need to assess and analyse the market accurately and adjust their investment strategies to meet demand.

 

1. Apartment development potential outside Auckland’s CBD: Infrastructure outside the CBD continues to improve, including transport, commercial and cultural facilities. This is an important reason people are drawn to buying property in these areas, prompting us to consider how improvements in urban infrastructure affect a city’s property market.

 

1. Intensifying market competition: As the number of new apartments increases, market competition will intensify. Developers, builders and real estate agents need to monitor demand and offer more attractive products and services to gain a competitive advantage. They must understand market conditions and develop strategies and decisions that respond to changes.

 

 

As apartment developments surge across Auckland, the market will face new challenges and opportunities. All parties need to monitor changes closely to respond to the property market’s continued evolution.