Knight Frank has appointed Max Frohlich Head of Institutional Sales in South Australia.

Max Frohlich will start in the role in July, returning to Knight Frank after a three-year hiatus after starting his property career with the global real estate agency as a Commercial Valuer in Adelaide.

He has since held national roles in capital transactions and property development in Adelaide and Sydney at firms including Realmont Property Partners, Leyton Property and Leyton Funds.

Most recently he has been Transactions Manager for an Adelaide-based boutique funds management business Leyton Funds.

Knight Frank Partner and National Head of Capital Markets Justin Bond said in his new role Mr Frohlich would focus on the origination of institutional-grade investment opportunities in Adelaide and alignment with both domestic and offshore capital mandates.

“We are thrilled to have Max back at Knight Frank, where he will work closely with Knight Frank’s national Capital Markets team and wider global network,” he said.

“In his new role, Mr Frohlich will also work closely with our successful and experienced investment sales team of Oliver Totani and Jack Dyson, along with our market leading office leasing team of Martin Potter and Rory Dyus.

“Max has strong financial modelling and asset pricing expertise with multi-sector experience across office, retail and Industrial.

“We believe his buy-side transaction experience in addition to his technical understanding of debt and equity raising - including development funding - will be a point of difference for Knight Frank in South Australia.

“He will bring a tailored approach to aligning the right assets with the right capital and will provide detail-oriented evidence-based advice for vendors and purchasers to maximise both divestment and investment outcomes.”

Mr Frohlich said he was excited to be rejoining the Knight Frank team in Adelaide and was positive about what the next two years held for commercial property in South Australia.

“In a market with rapidly changing macro-economic thematics including labour shortages, accelerating inflation pressures and rising interest rates, there is no better time to be investing in Adelaide,” he said.

“Adelaide provides a genuine and stable value proposition to the eastern states with the firmest office yields, maintaining a positive 100 to 130 basis point spread relative to east coast yields.

“This spread is further enhanced by South Australia’s commercial property stamp duty exemption, providing a further circa 25-plus basis point arbitrage on an adjusted running yield basis comparative to other states, and the occupier side of the equation is also positive.

“Adelaide's CBD office market is one of a few office markets nationally where occupied stock is already above the pre-COVID levels with relatively affordable rents and increasing demand from technology, defence and government, and a solid base of small business activity.”