Investor banks on Heidelberg corner site

A Heidelberg corner site leased to Bendigo Bank has been sold at auction for $5.302 million, reflecting a 3.4 percent yield and a land rate of around $7,470 per sqm.

The 710sqm property, 164-166 Burgundy Street, is zoned Commercial 1 and subject to a development overlay for a development of six-to-eight levels comprising 30-plus apartments above ground floor retail.

Fitzroys agent Chris James said several buyer groups fought out the auction for nearly an hour.

“The successful purchaser fought off other local and offshore investors including parties from Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as a number of development groups,” he said.

“The attention of overseas buyers is now firmly focused on the Melbourne and Sydney commercial markets given the penalties imposed by regulators on overseas investors acquiring residential properties,” he said.

“The eventual buyer was comforted by the fact that although they are an investor that now owns a bank site with a secure income, there is an opportunity at some time in the future to undertake a substantial development project on one of the suburb’s most prominent corners and in an area that increasingly embracing medium and high-density living.”