The two adjacent properties, 1455 High Street and 2a Scott Grove, Glen Iris, consisted of a combined area of 1,644 square metres and were purchased by a developer for $6,637,000.
The sale price represents a rate of $4,000 per square metre, and Julian White, a member of CBRE’s Victorian development sites team who helped facilitate the sale, said the tactic of group sales is likely to become more popular.
“To capitalise on developer demand, group selling is becoming increasingly popular, as homeowners look to partner with neighbours to sell their homes for significantly higher returns than what can be achieved by selling sites individually,” White said.
“Both the properties in this instance were purchased less than 18 months ago, with the vendors making big margins of around 100% from what they paid,” he said.
White said much of the demand was coming from apartment developers who are looking to take advantage of zoning laws, and the fact that apartments in suburb such as Glen Iris are likely to be significantly more affordable than houses.
“Developers are looking to take advantage of the imbalance of apartment demand versus supply in the eastern suburbs, with the site receiving considerable market attention for its favourable General Residential zoning,” he said.
“We are witnessing an increasing acceptance of apartment living in suburban markets, particularly in prestigious suburbs such as Glen Iris, where medianhouse prices of $2 million plus inhibit freestanding home ownership. Apartments are leading as a viable alternative as they offer all the access to amenity for a fraction of the cost.”
The Glen Iris sale follows a similar sale in Sydney, where nine home owners each netted more than $7 million after selling their homes as one to Hong Kong investor for $66.06 million.
