Laneway shopfront in Melbourne CBD sold for nearly $2.9 million

A laneway retail asset in Melbourne’s CBD has been snapped up by a local investor for $2.875 million in an off-market transaction.

The 165 Flinders Lane property is a two-storey shopfront on the corner of iconic laneway Hosier Lane.

The deal was brokered by Colliers International’s Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman and David Sia.

The property transacted with vacant possession but represents a market yield of about 3.5 per cent and a price per square metre of more than $36,000 per sqm, according to the agents.

“165 Flinders Lane embodies the ongoing trend of investors and tenants tweaking their portfolio strategies to incorporate laneways due to their character and point of difference,” Hay said.

He cited another ground-floor retail shop a stone’s throw away at 118 Russell Street that recently sold under the hammer for $1.75 million, representing a record $87,500 per sqm.

The sale price of 165 Flinders Lane reflected the growing appetite for quirky and unconventional retail assets in Melbourne’s CBD, they added.