Just hours on the market and… sold, to an offshore family for $5.4 million

A Melbourne-based CBD building has been on the market for just 12 hours before being purchased for $5.4 million, or 4.29% yield, by a China-based family. This equates to $18,500 per square metre.

The property, at 355 to 357 Exhibition Street, is a three-level 880 square metre building. It includes ground floor retail and four upper level apartments. The site itself is 291 square metres and is diagonally opposite Carlton Gardens.

The property was sold fully-leased to six tenants, and includes a mix of retail and residential renters. Most are on short-term leases, and it equates to $232,000 per annum.

Savills Australia head of city sales and investments, Clinton Baxter, and Nick Peden, negotiated the sale, and said that a number of highly motivated investors were rushing to make offers.

“This is yet another example of the rush to buy Melbourne property at the moment, rush being the definitive term. The phone literally ran hot resulting in numerous potential purchasers making inspections within hours of hitting the market,” said Baxter.

“This reflects the strong demand for well located smaller freehold properties within the CBD, properties which are increasingly shrinking in number as major development takes over the central city area,” he said.

The building is placed for future highrise development and would have desirable views.

The vendor had held the building for 33 years and was a local private investor.

It appears that the tenants include Tourism Malaysia and a Thailicious.