Childcare, petrol stations fire up buyers

Interstate buyers swooped on two childcare centres in Geelong and Brisbane, and a Coles Express petrol station in Ipswich, as part of a Melbourne portfolio auction, which achieved a 50 per cent success rate.

Of the 12 mainly retail investments offered for sale by estate agents burgess Rawson, six sold under the hammer for a combined $17 million.

Burgess Rawson director Billy Holderhead said the number of interstate buyers was a standout feature of then auction.

“Investors are looking beyond state borders for leased retail investments,” he said.

Among the properties to sell on Wednesday at Crown Casino, was a Coles Express petrol station and retail outlet at Ipswich, which sold for $3.765 million on a yield of 5.3 per cent. Mr Holderhead said the sale was well above reserve.

A childcare centre in Albany Creek in Brisbane’s north-west sold to a Melbourne buyer for $5.875 million on a yield of 6 per cent. Mr Holderhead said the investor specifically wanted an interstate investment to avoid paying Victorian land tax.

In Geelong, a G8-leased childcare centre sold to a Sydney buyer for $4.815 million on a yield of 6.4 per cent.

There were just 12 properties offered at the Melbourne auction, compared with a typical Burgess Rawson portfolio auction where there can be 20 properties or more up for grabs.

On Tuesday, a Sydney Burgess Rawson portfolio auction offered just five properties, with all of them selling under the hammer for more than $10 million in total.

“I’ve done a search nationally and there’s very little stock in the sub-$15 million market. Vendors are sitting on their properties, wondering what to replace their investments with, even if they can sell at a strong price,” Mr Holderhead said.

Among the sales in Sydney, a Bunnings in Kempsey, NSW sold for $5.17 million on a yield of 6.7 per cent.

“The entry-level Bunnings was snapped up by a private investor for $5.17 million exceeding the vendor’s expectation and there was fierce competition for the Paradise Point café site on the Gold Coast [which sold for $1.1 million on a yield of 6.1 per cent],” Burgess Rawson Sydney director Simon Staddon said.

“Across the board, there were multiple bidders keen to purchase commercial property investments.”

Larry Schlesinger – Australian Financial Review