CASE STUDIES

The Albany Estate, Auckland

New Zealand

A post-GFC runaway success

In 2010, Whillans Realty was appointed ‘master’ agent for the sell-down of 18 separate freehold lots that made up a development known as the Albany Estate. The unique master agency approach used in this sell-down differed from the recommended sole-agency, large-budget marketing strategies used by our competitors. We opened up the playing field to other agencies under a controlled but inclusive sales and marketing programme. The results truly speak for themselves.

At the beginning of the sales process we engaged a town planner to create improved planning guidelines for the development. In doing this the Albany Estate became more attractive to developers and end-users. Ultimately, the Albany Estate sell-down became a post GFC runaway success, outperforming all other similar sell-downs on the New Zealand marketplace at the time.

The Estate was sold to a mix of major listed and unlisted property trusts including Metlifecare and Argosy, private residential and offshore developers, and the supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises. Land sales within the Estate rose meteorically between 2013 and 2017, going from $380/psm in 2010 to $1,596/psm by the second quarter of 2017.

Testament to the depth of our client base and our connection with international buyers, Whillans Realty sold down the entire Albany Estate. We sold in excess of $280 million in land sales within the Estate, and negotiated a further $44 million in ‘put options’ and contracts.

SOLD $330,700,000