Prime slice of Collingwood sells under the hammer

A retail shop occupied by renowned Collingwood butcher Jonathan’s has sold under the hammer for $1.79 million – setting a new price record on one of the suburb’s most prominent strips.

The 122 Smith Street sale, which marks the end of an almost 40-year era for the longstanding butcher, reflected a tight yield of 3.6 per cent and a land rate of just under $16,000 per sqm.

The purchaser was a local buyer and regular customer of Jonathan’s.

Established at the Smith Street site in 1976 by Jonathan Gianfreda, the business continues under the current management of Joe Mittica and Claude Barbon.

CBRE’s Rorey James, who steered the sale in conjunction with fellow agents Tom Tuxworth and Jackie Hanna, said the auction attracted a crowd of 160 people and a strong pool of potential buyers.

“Eight bidders, including four offshore, competed aggressively for the asset, with the first bid of $1.4 million meeting the vendors reserve, and from there nearly 80 bids were received, driving the price to $1.79 million,” Mr James said.

He added: “This strong interest is an indication that off-shore groups are becoming more aggressive and gaining even further confidence in investing outside of the Melbourne CBD. However, the result is yet another example of the local buyer market’s resurgence in 2015, despite a falling AUD and the effect this has had on buying Melbourne real estate for offshore groups.”

Ms Hanna added that the recent interest rate cut had stimulated the buyer market further, with an unprecedented amount of cash currently in the market for these strip retail properties.

She said the property’s appeal as a secure investment opportunity was a major drawcard, given the market’s aggressive appetite for income returning assets.