Clever Wantirna owner to net $7m-plus from neighbouring properties

It pays to buy and hold onto neighbouring properties, as one patient Wantirna seller is about to find out.

Investors from China and Malaysia are in the race with local developers to snap up the vendor’s rare in-fill site.

The three-block listing of 7612sq m, comprising 4-5 Nizam Court and 3 Ashwood Close, has a sought-after location close to schools and amenities.

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The owner, who has held onto the three properties over a period of more than 35 years, will cash in on a sale expected to exceed $7.5 million. One property was bought in the early 1980s and the other two in 2004.

The blocks are ideally suited for townhouse or unit development, with townhouses in the suburb easily fetching above $800,000, sales records show.

The interest had come not only from developers, but also aged-care operators as the landholding was a development opportunity in a sought-after spot, Savills Melbourne director Julian Heatherich says.

The Wantirna site is close to amenities.

“In-fill sites in Wantirna are rare and this one has just three houses when such blocks would usually contain six or seven houses,” he says.

“There has been international and local interest and several offers were received when expressions of interest closed.”

The vendor lives in one of the homes, with the largest block taking up 6062sqm and the other two 851sqm and 694sqm.

Housing or vacant blocks in the suburb could fetch between $1000 and $1300 per square metre, Heatherich says.

The site has General Residential 2 zoning and offers two street frontages close to major roads, public and private schools, parklands, cycling trails and shopping.

The suburb record of $2.95 million was set by a three-block site of 2200sqm at 553-557 Boronia Rd. which sold in 2016, realestate.com.au records show.

This article from Leader Newspapers originally appeared as “Wantirna vendor lists clever multimillion-dollar collection”.