Fairfield flats fetch a mint at auction

A tenanted unit block along one of Fairfield’s thoroughfares has been snapped up for nearly $3 million.

Nestled between Fairfield Public School and shop top housing, the property at 378 The Horsley Drive hit the market for the first time in three years and generated strong buyer interest.

The campaign saw more than 60 inquiries from a mix of private and government-funded housing providers, revealing there is “still an appetite” for blocks selling in one line.

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Associate director of Ray White Commercial NSW, Joseph Assaf, said the units on a parcel spanning 828 sqm went to auction with many interested parties. He said four active bidders were battling it out.

“The property was passed in, in favour of the highest bidder at $2.7 million with the first right to negotiate — and it sold 45 minutes later for $2.82 million,” Mr Assaf told the Fairfield Advance.

There are eight units and eight car spaces on the property.

“Buyer price indications throughout the campaign were mid to high $2 millions,” he says.

According to CoreLogic records, the fully leased unit block last sold in mid-2016 for $2.3 million.

Until now, it has been held by the same owner as an investment property.

The prime site has eight apartments, mostly two-bedders, and brings in about $155,000 a year.

Each unit has a central living space, an internal laundry and wardrobes in the main bedroom.

The property also has eight car spaces, two storage rooms and a caretaker’s toilet.

The homes are a mix of one- and two-bedders.

With mixed use zoning, the property is about 550m from Fairfield station and the shopping centre.

Last week’s sale saw the site snapped up by a non-profit organisation, which Assaf said could not yet be named due to confidentiality agreements.

“The buyer’s current intentions are to keep (it) as a multi-tenant investment, with future plans to potentially occupy as a community housing provider.”

The latest figures show Fairfield’s median unit price rose 1.2% in the 12 months to December to $425,000. The median asking rent is $380 a week.

This article from the Fairfield Advance originally appeared as “Non-profit group buys unit block for $2.82m”.