SOLD: When just $2000 makes all the difference
No.50 Arve Rd, Geeveston. Picture: Supplied
A BATTLE broke out at an auction in Melbourne with bidders vying for a property in Geeveston, Tasmania.
Ultimately, a first-time commercial sector investor secured the entry-level property for $495,000 — 20 per cent above the reserve price — but it took some work to get there.
Over and over, the bidders tried to sneak past each other with bids of just $1000.
In the end, it was a $2000 increase that secured the roadhouse and service station at No.50 Arve Rd, which had been brought to market by Knight Frank and Burgess Rawson.
The opening offer for Sol’s Roadhouse came from an online bidder at $400,000.
From here, bids progressed in $10,000 lots up to $450,000.
The auctioneer took over 25 bids from three bidders, and called “first, second” five times, and “third and final” five more times before finally dropping his gavel.
Burgess Rawson Portfolio Auction 161 was held at the Crown Casino, Melbourne.
Burgess Rawson senior sales executive Matthew Wright, who brokered the deal, said the sale price reflected a yield of 8.87 per cent.
Mr Wright said the New South Wales-based investor was attracted to the property due to its long-term 10-year lease to a proven roadhouse operator.
“The asset presented a landlord-favourable, set-and-forget net lease structure with the tenants responsible for council rates, water rates and single holding land tax,” he said.
Sol’s has a secure new 10-year lease from 2023 through to 2033, plus options to 2043.
There is a separate lease to Bennett’s Petroleum through to 2024, plus options through to 2030, with all of the fuel infrastructure above ground.
No.50 Arve Rd, Geeveston.
Bennett’s Petroleum is Tasmania’s largest Ampol distributor and a multi-site operator with 16-plus sites in operation.
The 866sq m property has 30 metres of frontage to Arve Rd, which connects to the Huon Hwy, the major highway link between Hobart and the Huon Valley.
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Mr Wright said Tasmania’s commercial property market had been solid through the first half of the year.
“From our point of view, it has been really good,” he said.
“A prime example is the Rockwall building sale in Salamanca Pl.”
No.50 Arve Rd, Geeveston.
Knight Frank commercial sales representative Tom Balcombe said investors see value in the commercial market, particularly the A Grade assets.
“We have yet to see a slow down, especially with premium stock continuing to transact well,” he said.
“There are cash positive buyers who are active in our market, and will make the most of the current conditions.
“Tassie really is a good market in which to invest your capital,” he said.
“People are starting to realise this more and more, and there is definitely great value here.”
