Geelong’s 180-182 Ryrie Street sells for $2.81M

• Sold at a 6% premium to 2021 sale price.
• Recently released plans allow for a new height limit of 28 metres.
• Expected to benefit from future convention centre development.

An 800 square metre (sqm) two-storey brick building in Geelong’s CBD has sold for $2.81 million to an owner occupier, with vacant possession.

The property has sold for a 6% premium to its May 2021 sale price of $2.65 million, with Colliers‘ senior executive, Ben Young, noting that the sale and price growth is a sign that Geelong continues to have strong growth, despite the tough and uncertain market conditions.

It comes as other Geelong assets have also sold, including:

Recent Geelong sales

Source: Colliers.

“The asset sits on a land area of 710sqm, providing an opportunity for significant upscale as it meets the recently released Central Geelong Framework Plan, which allows a new height limit of 28 metres, lending itself to an 8-storey redevelopment (STCA),” said Young.

Located at 180-182 Ryrie Street, the property is surrounded by major businesses such as Village Cinemas, McDonald’s, Telstra and Sporting Globe, and benefits from high foot traffic.

A new Geelong Convention Centre is also expected to be a boon for the area and the city, with the nearly $300 million project set to create 600 jobs during construction, and another 270 ongoing jobs; the project expects to be completed in 2026.

Colliers’ Ben Young and Chris Nanni negotiated the deal.

Victorian sales strong

In other news, other Victorian locations have also recorded strong sales figures.

A property at 35 Church Street, Brighton, recently sold under the hammer for $7.15 million. The sale price reflected a 3.5% yield and a land rate of $24,826 per sqm. The sale price is also $1.05 million above the 2019 figure.

The site area is 288 sqm, and the property has an 8.5-metre frontage to Church Street.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) has been at the site for 30 years, with the property generating an income of $254,616 plus outgoings.

Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot and Tom Fisher sold 35 Church Street on behalf of a local investor.

“This was undoubtedly one of the best Melbourne shopping strip investment opportunities we’ll see for 2023, and the result reflected that,” Talbot said.

“The market recognised how rare it is to find a good-sized property with a renewed, secure lease to a major bank in the prime of Melbourne’s best-performing shopping strip.”

Talbot said a local investor was the purchaser, winning out from multiple bidders. Close to 100 enquiries were received, with most coming from Melbourne and New South Wales.

“The purchaser was attracted to the excellent tenant, the tenant’s payment of land tax and the strong rental growth achieved from the asset.

“There had been a 19% uplift in rental since the property was last sold four years ago, despite COVID resetting the world economy during this time.

“The benefit of land tax being recoverable from the tenant was a huge attraction to investors, and together with the secure lease-term to an ASX-listed big four bank made this investment close to risk-free.”

“We’re still seeing investors put their faith in income-producing bricks-and-mortar assets. Higher interest rates clearly haven’t deterred investors from pursuing high-quality opportunities,” added Talbot.

Among other sales along the street over the past few years:

Source: Fitzroys.