Education provider snaps up Melbourne CBD office for $2 million

Education provider snaps up Melbourne CBD office for $2 million
Staff ReporterDecember 7, 2020

A leading education provider has bought a Melbourne CBD office floor for $2.01 million, aiming to cash in on the strong inflow of international students which is driving up demand in the Victorian capital, according to Colliers International. 

Expert Education and Visa Services has bought level three at 313 Flinders Lane following an international expressions-of-interest campaign.

The deal follows the sale of lot 601 at 224 La Trobe Street to Asia Pacific Education Consultants for $1,956,150, and level nine at 221 Queen Street to Australian Pacific College for $3 million, Colliers said in a media release.

Education provider snaps up Melbourne CBD office for $2 million

The property agency’s strata office experts Chris Ling and Anthony Kirwan, who brokered the deals, said education and migration groups are eager to capitalise on the influx of international students from Asia and India.

The latest Department of Education and Training statistics show 480,092 international students were recorded in Australia as of March 2017, a 15 per cent rise from March last year.

“Thirty per cent of these students are from China (144,028) and 11 per cent are from India (52,810),” he said.

Melbourne has been a popular destination for students, fuelling demand for education and migration office space, as well as accommodation, added Ling.

“The appetite for these lucrative sectors is growing in line with students’ recognition of Australia as a welcoming country with an impressive choice of education institutions, including The University of Melbourne and RMIT University.”

“Political changes across the US and the UK, including Trump’s election and Brexit, have been a strong deterrent due to racism and immigration restrictions. With the bonus of a low Australian dollar, this demand from international students is likely to continue.”

Ling, Kirwan and Oliver Hay have also just sold levels four and five at 100 Collins Street via expressions of interest.

In fact, there is strong competition for leasing space as well. Leased space to the education sector in Melbourne's CBD in 2016 rose 200 percent on the previous year with increases in land taxes hitting stock levels, putting upward pressure on rents, according to real estate firm Savills.

 

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