Fitzroys’ Shawn Luo, Chris James and David Bourke sold Belmore Plaza, at 399 Belmore Road, Balwyn at a very sharp 3.8% initial yield on behalf of a private investor.

The buyer was a local investor backed with Asian capital who will hold the property as an investment in the medium term and look at development in the future.

Encompassing eight titles offered in one line, Belmore Plaza comprises a two-storey 867sqm building plus on-site parking on a 1,205sqm land parcel with flexible Commercial 1 zoning, within the Coles-anchored Balwyn East Shopping Centre village.

It returns passing rent of $226,000 per annum across multiple tenancies, including Chinese restaurant Eastern Bell, Nuski’s Swiss Patisserie, clothing boutique Bonnie Parker, and Netsquare Computer Services.

The campaign generated over 110 enquiries from investors and value add buyers before the property sold at a hugely competitive auction.

“Here, the underlying land value was a huge attraction. Commercial 1-zoned sites of this size in Boroondara - let alone right near a major supermarket - are incredibly rare,” James said.

“Investors were also willing to take on the small leasing risk given how strongly local centres have traded over the past two years as Melburnians reconnected with their local communities.”

The site offers excellent development prospects including for residential, retail and mixed- use, with Boroondara offering a prized affluent residential catchment, a fast-growing office market and excellent hospitality and lifestyle amenity, making it attractive to residents and workers.

“Close-by suburbs such as Hawthorn and Camberwell have growing office markets and are seeing strong residential and commercial development activity as Melburnians seek vibrant, well-connected inner-suburban locations, particularly while flexible working arrangements are in vogue,” James said.

Luo said demand from Asia-backed capital has surged since the reopening of international borders in February. 

“We’ve seen more Asian capital-backed buyers competing for a range of sites across Melbourne in recent months, from trophy retail investments to sites with strong development prospects, adding to the depth of enquiry and competitiveness of campaigns.

“Australia and Melbourne have clearly retained their safe-haven status across asset types over the past two years.”