Hammer falls up north

Two Tasmanian commercial property assets have been sold under the hammer just weeks ahead of Christmas.

Three Apple Isle properties were among those put to auction at Burgess Rawson’s portfolio event No. 157.

The United Petroleum asset in Launceston was not sold, however the other properties found buyers.

The Salvos Devonport outlet fetched $1.4m under the hammer.

The Stewart St building was marketed by Burgess Rawson’s Matthew Wright and Shaun Venables in conjunction with Knight Frank Tasmania’s Clinton O’Keefe and Nicholas Bond.

Mr Wright said the property was sold on a 7.28 per cent yield and with a renewed five-year lease to November 2027 plus options through to 2037.

Investor appetite for Tasmanian assets continues to be strong, Mr Wright said, with this property keeping up with national inquiry levels across the campaign.

The high profile two level heritage property has a building area of about 199sq m converted into three tenancies, with level one leased to a ballet studio.

Salvo’s is a 125 year old government-funded retailer with over 350 stores nationally and an aggressive growth strategy.

The property was sold at the portfolio auction in Melbourne that saw more than $36.5m in transactions, while the Sydney auction added another $16.8m in property sales.

The PFD Foods building in Smithton was the most affordable asset sold at the Sydney auctions. It fetched $420,000 on a yield of 6.61 per cent. All bar one of the 13 PDF sites have sold.

Burgess Rawson chief executive Ingrid Filmer said interest rate rises have failed to quash investor appetite for quality properties.

“We’re seeing demand remain strong with yields continuing to fall even though the cash rate is rising,” she said.

“The cash rate is up 50 basis points since our last auction in Melbourne while our yields are down 45 basis points,” she said.