Luxury and space in high-rise living
Page 1 of 3 View as a single page 5:00AM Sunday October 28, 2007
By Gill South
Takapuna's Sentinel building.
As investors continue to steer away from the Auckland apartment market, the property industry is designing a number of new developments for discerning owner-occupiers.
These owners want space, quality and service in their urban pads and are prepared to pay for it. And they are not so concerned with capital returns.
Strong demand is expected for Albert St's Stamford Residences - 149 freehold apartments being built above the Stamford Plaza Hotel.
Six two-storey loft apartments priced at $460,000 are likely to appeal to executives, says Kelland's Real Estate, which is marketing the 10-storey luxury development. The apartments, with their own entrance from the street, will range from these 55 sq m lofts to a 411 sq m penthouse. Prices will range from $460,000 to just under $6 million for the apartments which will have access to all the Stamford hotel facilities. Kelland's confirmed there is a waiting list for the apartments, which are due for completion next August.
Larry Murphy, head of the Property Department at the University of Auckland says the Auckland apartment market is moving towards quality as people are prepared to pay for improved lifestyle. They include "Generation Y" types who want to be close to work and where the action is. This renaissance of cities is happening globally, he says. "It is a cultural reaction to the city that is associated with lifestyle," says Murphy.
Sentinel, a 30-storey apartment block in Takapuna, on Auckland's North Shore, is aimed at the owner-occupier market, specifically baby boomers, says Ian Bensley, sales consultant for developer Cornerstone Group. And they don't want 30 sq m apartments, they want 80 sq m or 100 sq m with quality construction. A penthouse recently sold for $11m.
Of 115 apartments available, 103 have sold. The remainder cost between $695,000 and $2.5 million and range from 80 sq m to 180 sq m. People started buying three years ago and some have already sold, making good margins.
Property experts are encouraging first-home buyers, professional executives and empty nesters to look again at the apartment market.
About two-thirds of Auckland's apartments are owned by investors and it has been a rocky year for those in the lower end of the market. Values have dropped 25-30 per cent, says DTZ's research manager, Ian Mitchell. However, values of better-quality apartments have not dropped, he says.
Mitchell has noticed a trend for single professional women to buy apartments, as well as younger professional couples and growing numbers of empty nesters.
Mitchell says Auckland has to lose its reputation for building poky apartments and become closer to the Australian model, where apartments are more like a small house in a building.