The $86 million sale of ENI House to Primewest paves the way for an expected record year in sales volume for Perth, according to CBRE.

Located within the city's eastern CBD precinct, the seven-level, A-grade office building is fully leased to the  Federal Government and corporate tenants, including Wood & Grieve Engineers and ENI Australia Ltd. 

The sale of the building was negotiated by CBRE’s Aaron Desange and Flint Davidson, in conjunction with JLL’s John Williams and Sean Flynn.

Mr Desange said the first major transaction of the year demonstrated the depth of demand within Perth's office market.

“The lease expiry profile of ENI House was a major drawcard for investors," he said.

"Many viewed it as the ideal time to capitalise on improving market conditions over the next two-three years when the office leasing market will not only be more robust but in a strong growth phase."

Research from CBRE indicates that Perth is expected to expected to benefit from a strong spike in rental growth over the next five years, with premium net effective rents forecast to increase by 56.3% across the next three years, while A-grade rents are tipped to lift by 41.6%.

Mr Williams said Western Australia would continue to be a preferred destination for offshore investment in 2019, with several Asia Pacific capital cities close to approaching their peak in the cycle.  

“Buyers are increasingly looking for acquisitions in a market anticipated to be about to move into a new growth cycle,” he said. 

“In Perth, Asian investors have dominated the value-add space, as they are able to be more aggressive in deals with vacancy risk or capital expenditure requirements through their cheaper cost of capital.

"They are also attracted to our low sovereign risk and comparatively high yielding assets.” 

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