- Two more acquisitions were announced following one in Palm Beach
- One site is home to the Pittwater Plaza in Mona Vale
- IPM says demand from locals reinvesting in the area is at an all-time high
Recent times have not been quiet for Sydney-based developer IPM who have recently announced the acquisition of another two sites in the booming Northern Beaches region – where the median house price is increasing by $10,000 a week.
The two sites follow the acquisition of a Palm Beach acquisition earlier this month, taking the developers pipeline to $200 million.
This includes a 2,000sqm site in Mona Vale that is currently home to the Pittwater Plaza commercial and shopping centre, occupied with small retail and business tenancies.
Currently, the site has development approval for 36 apartments with ground-floor retail. IPM is exploring a redesign process that will allow it to deliver high-end apartment offerings catering to local downsizers and owner-occupiers.
The site was acquired off-market for an undisclosed sum, but sources from numerous developers suggest the price was in the mid-$20 million area.
The project is a 50:50 joint venture with Metrics Credit Partners, a major non-bank lender, with the end value estimated to be $70 million.
The second site was on Ocean Road in Newport, currently home to two residential homes. IPM will seek development approval for a limited number of three luxury bedroom apartments.
The frenzy in the Northern Beaches came to a head recently with an off-the-plan suburb record for IPM’s Iluka, Mona Vakle beachfront development whereby a three-bedroom penthouse sold for $4.775 million.
Steven Sroba, IPM managing director, said the developer had been aggressively acquiring sites over the past 18 months in the booming area, noting that some suburbs had surged in value by +28.5%.
“By comparison, there is little in the way of development opportunities so demand from local owner-occupiers looking to re-invest in the area is at an all-time high.
“There has been a distinct lack of quality new product coming to market in the region so we see a huge opportunity to capitalise on the rarity and deliver high-quality, well-designed apartments to the northern beaches market, which has been significantly underserviced in the recent years.”
Steven Sroba, IPM
Mr Sroba said that IPM’s model has evolved in recent years from a mostly residential portfolio to one that includes more mixed-use and retail offerings. He added that the Mona Vale site aligns perfectly with this new model.
“While Sydney will remain a large part of our business, we are seeking to supplement that with a significant northern beaches pipeline and will continue to look for development opportunities where we can realise the inherent value in underdeveloped assets while delivering quality apartments to the market,” he said.
