A refurbished 1970’s office building in Camberwell Junction has been sold to a private investor on a strong sub 6% yield, marking the first notable suburban Melbourne office transaction this financial year. 

The CBRE Capital Markets Office team of Tom Ryan and Scott Orchard negotiated the sale on behalf of Vantage, owners and managers of the property since 1999. 

Vantage’s Managing Director Matt Spring noted, “The property has been a dependable asset over the years, and the strong result is no surprise given we had repositioned the building on behalf of a small group of investors to perform in the modern market despite continual economic and market challenges.” 

Paul Henley, Vantage Head of Acquisitions and Investments, added, “697’s prime location, being less than 100m from Camberwell Junction, was attractive to SME’s looking to take advantage of working closer to home with generous retail amenities and access to public transport.”

The property has six levels of office accommodation over 2,791sqm above a secure ground level car park with dual access for 50 cars. It generates a fully leased annual net income of $1,247,455.

CBRE’s Mr Ryan said the public Expressions of Interest campaign had coincided with a lower number of commercial property investment offerings than average this year.

“With market uncertainties resulting in some buyer hesitation through the middle part of the year, we took a strategic position on the strong investment fundamentals and the asset’s future growth story to achieve this sale outcome,” Mr Ryan said.

Mr Orchard said the sale was closely in touch with comparable sales seen prior to the recent interest rate rises, with interest rates being a key driver of values.

“During the sale campaign period, we were able to underpin confidence to generate strong interest, with eight bids from local private, national syndicator and international buyers,” Mr Orchard said.

“This depth of interest reflects fresh momentum and rising buyer activity for quality office opportunities as the end of the year draws closer, with many more buyers expressing intentions to place capital into the market in the new year.” 

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