Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot and Chris James sold 311 Bay Street, while Talbot and Fitzroys’ Tom Fisher sold 407 Bay Street and 409 Bay Street.

All three properties were owned by an Estate associated with the late Tom Chapman, a prominent real estate agent who previously owned Hodges Real Estate for three decades from the time he bought the business in 1956.

Chapman was a highly successful auctioneer, as well as an innovator; he installed two-way radios in his agent’s cars and was among the first to introduce display advertising in the industry to better promote sales.

More than 200 local and national buyers made enquiries across the three campaigns. “Brighton real estate is amongst the most tightly-held and prestigious in Melbourne. The huge market response and strong results clearly reflected the perennial demand for opportunities in the suburb,” Talbot said.

311 Bay Street - previously occupied by Hodges, and now the long-term home of Brighton Carpets Carpet Court - was purchased by an investor on an ultra-sharp 1.9% yield. Six bidders competed for the 408sqm corner site and pushed the price $460,000 beyond the reserve, to $3.81 million.

“Corner sites in the heart of Brighton retail strips are ultra-rare. Investors also recognised the property’s excellent rental growth prospects, while land bankers and value-add players were attracted to the highly flexible Commercial 1 zoning and Design and Development Overlay, which promoted a three-level building height at a time in which the suburb is seeing a plethora of medium-density residential developments.

“The buyer now has a substantial prime corner site in a blue-chip Melbourne suburb to call their own.”

Two strong bidders competed for 407 Bay Street, which took the price $300,000 over the reserve to $1.84 million, and resulted in another sharp yield of 2.9%. The two-level property has a secure 5+5-year lease from February 2020 and offered investors and landbankers the chance to secure a 247sqm site directly opposite the Coles supermarket-anchored mixed-
use development.

“The market has continually shown faith in Melbourne’s shopping strips over the past two years, with investors opting for income-producing, well-located bricks and mortar assets with long-term leases,” Talbot said.

Next door, the versatile 409 Bay Street property sold with vacant possession for $1.18 million. Talbot said the buyer is an owner-occupier who outbid several investors to purchase the property. The high-exposure location of the property and its value-add potential were major drawcards for the purchaser.

“Bay Street, Brighton serves one of Melbourne’s most prized catchments, which has maintained a strong demographic with high disposable income and a consistently high median house price, supporting strong retail trade.”

Reflecting its even tenancy mix and affluent catchment, Bay Street, Brighton recorded among the most stable performances of any of Melbourne’s shopping strips throughout the COVID period, according to Fitzroys’ Walk the Strip report.

Fitzroys has now sold over $30 million worth of commercial property in the blue-chip suburb over the past 12 months, at an average yield of just 2.77%. Most recently, Fitzroys sold the heritage-style 990sqm dominant corner building at 71-73 Church Street & 36 Carpenter Street, home to Nike, Ecco and Laurent, for $16.2 million at a 3.8% yield. The agency also sold the Church Street home of international retailer Oroton Group for $6.07 million at an incredibly tight 2.5% yield.