Tas Costi and Simon Cohen launch Costi Cohen, Australia’s first full service commercial buyer’s agency
Tas Costi and Simon Cohen of commercial buyer’s agency Costi Cohen.
Buyers agents Tas Costi and Simon Cohen have launched a new business purely focused on sourcing commercial property for clients because of unprecedented high demand.
“It’s huge,” says Costi.
“Especially since the start of the year, it’s been incredible.”
To be known as Costi Cohen, the new outfit will operate as a division of the longstanding residential buyer’s agency Cohen-Handler.
They say they’re not just launching a company — but an industry. “This dedicated commercial buyers service has not existed, ” the pair advise.
Encouraged by historically low lending rates, savvy investors are looking for somewhere attractive to park their money.
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Costi Cohen recently helped fintech professional Fabio De Carvalho buy the home of Beacon Lighting on the Pacific Highway in Killara $6.6m.
And with residential yields dropping to as low as 2 per cent, even mums and dads are increasingly taking a fresh look at commercial opportunities everywhere — whether it be Sydney’s east, the western suburbs or interstate.
Already this year, Costi found a property on the upper north shore with a 5.5 per cent net yield for his Bondi Junction-based client, fintech professional Fabio De Carvalho.
The home of Beacon Lighting at 692B-694 Pacific Highway, Killara cost $6.6m (through sales agents Geoff Sinclair and Yosh Mendis of Cushman & Wakefield).
It was De Carvalho’s first big commercial investment and he said Costi’s help was invaluable.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him … it’s obviously a big investment and commercial property is a lot more complex than residential,” he said.
94 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, was purchased for an eastern suburbs family for $4.75m.
De Carvalho first met Costi five months ago and they’d considered everything from petrol stations, to childcare through to pubs and hotels.
Costi was able to provide information on the potential growth, tenancy rates and pros and cons of various properties. “With a lot of them, he said ‘at this price, I don’t think it’s really worth it’,” De Carvalho said.
It was the high yield, quality tenant and potential for future development that appealed in Killara.
“And also to have 47 car spots in a highly populated area and that this was an ASX-listed company looked like a good opportunity,” De Carvalho said.
Unit 1 at 94 Hall Street, Bondi Beach is currently being offered on the rental market for $950 a week.
Costi, who has been working in the commercial area as part of the Cohen Handler team for three-and-a-half years, also helped an eastern suburbs family purchase a block of four flats at 94 Hall Street for $4.75m last April.
“They bought it with their children in mind,” says Costi.
In the meantime, they’re renovating the two-bedroom apartments and put them on the rental market.
Unit 1 is currently being advertised for $950 per week.
Other recent purchases have included three commercial lots with development potential at 4-8 Manning Road, Double Bay for $14.14m; offices at 156 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra that had an original price guide of $26m to $28m that sold for an undisclosed figure and a waterfront holiday rental investment at 116 Ocean Parade Blue Bay for $3.8m.
