The sale of one of the last remaining pieces of land in Wellington CBD nets a shocking $25 million due to growing demand.
The property, currently home to a car yard, will be developed into 152 low-rise freehold terraced houses ranging from $788,000 to $1.48 million.
Stephen Sutorius, owner of the development company Thames Pacific, said he understood the Wellington market and saw the property’s great potential.
“Wellington ticks all the fundamentals of property investment, with its lack of suitable land and strong demand for housing in an undersupplied market; it was a logical place to invest,” Sutorius said.
“We’re actively looking for more development sites at the moment in close proximity to the city centre, but finding suitable land – without complexities - is difficult.”
Sutorius shared that they were supposed to develop a 27-metre high complex but he felt there was more appetite for low-rise, given the rising insurance premiums for multi-level apartment buildings.
“There are already a lot of high rise residential developments in the city, however, we know there’s strong demand for low rise accommodation, especially given concerns around earthquakes coupled with rising insurance premiums for multi-level apartment buildings,” Sutorius said.
Sam McIlroy, commercial sales and leasing broker at Colliers International in Wellington and the one who handled the deal, discussed the scarcity of available land in CBD that resulted in the property’s higher price.
“There’s a real scarcity of land available for development in the CBD. Land prices have steadily increased over the past decade and there has been further pressure as the supply dwindles,” said McIlroy.
“Developers are now looking at new development opportunities and these parcels of land often have existing buildings sitting on them. The developments range in size and form from apartments to hotels and townhouses.”
