A record of an unusual kind was set up by the Alliance Group’s multi-$

property auction in Sandton on Wednesday when a lot combining Victorian and Art Deco styles was put on offer.

The Herberg Hotel on Commissioner Street in Krugersdorp consists of two adjoining buildings, one built in 1896 and the other in 1939. The buildings are interlinked and form a single hotel unit.

The older section with its distinctive ornate attic windows was built 10 years after Krugersdorp was founded in 1887 by Abner Cohen. The hotel, which was sold as an operating business, fetched R6m.

The auction was notable for an interesting feature: it was dominated by retail buildings in Randburg, Klerksdorp, Hazyview, Nelspruit, Benoni, Brits and other out of town areas.

“It was a real platteland auction with a very good mix of properties in country towns,” auctioneer Rael Levitt said.

There was one disappointment. The newly-built Telkom warehouse with a gross lettable area (GLA) of 9 575m² in Corporate Park, Midrand, one of the largest of is kind to come on auction in recent times, was withdrawn. Levitt called for an opening bid of R40m, but there were no takers.

“Pre-auction negotiations were at levels close to R50m, so opening bids of below R40m could not be considered,” Norman Raad of Alliance Group said.

Also withdrawn was a retail and motor showroom building with a GLA of 10 000m² on a 9 294m² stand on Turf Road, La Rochelle.

“The tenant is moving out, and the building will be vacant. Hence the lack of interest,” Raad said.

There was keen bidding for a retail and convenience centre on the Sabie Sabie Road, Hazyview. The building with a gross building area of 5 718m² attained a final bid of R12,25m

Another retail and commercial centre in Hazyview, the Dikae Centre with a GLA of 2 823m² and a gross income of R2,36m a year, achieved a final bid of R8m.

A good price was received by the Absa building in Ferndale, Randburg. The building, with a blue-chip lease until 2012 and a gross income of R3,71m a year, sold for R17m. The pre-auction offer of R18m for the Sanburn Building on Woburn Avenue, Benoni stood as no higher offers were received. The Ekurhuleni municipality is the single tenant of the office block with a GLA of 6 757m2.

Also in Benoni was a retail and office building on Voortrekker Street, formerly a hotel. The building, with Furniture City as a tenant, a GLA of 3 128m² and gross income of R1,03m, a year sold for R4,5m.

A complex of four blocks of flats accommodating 90 flats in Ellis Park, Germiston, was a one-horse race. One bid of R12m was received.

There was strong demand for Sucosa House, a neat commercial or industrial building in Kramerville with a GLA of 3 128m² It sold for R10,8m after what Levitt described as “exciting bidding”.

In Bordeaux, Randburg, a multi-storey retail and office block that came under the hammer was sold for R8,75m.

Other attractive retail centres are in Alberton and Nelspruit. The former, on Voortrekker Road has blue-chip tenants, a GLA of 5 942m² sold for R14,5m.

The latter, on Bester Street with Sales House as a single tenant with the lease expiring in 2016 sold for R8,3m.

Described as a blue-chip investment, a modern block on Voortrekker Road in Gezina, Pretoria sold for R6,6m.

In Krugersdorp, a modern office block on Ockerse Street sold for R18,2m.

An interesting combination of a retail building or conference centre and a filling station was on offer in Cullinan. There is a 10-year lease with the Shell oil company.

The complex has seven tenants, a GLA of 1 670m² and 25 parking bays. It sold for R4,5m.

More unusual was the offer of a one-stop residential, bushveld and commercial component, Klaserie, that fetched R4m.

The property on 61,83ha comes with five houses, two flats, restaurant and forecourt.

Raad said there was some pessimism as people were under pressure because of the lack of liquidity in the market.

“Everyone is feeling the pinch, and the global financial crisis does not help. But there are still lots of buyers.”