Hong Kong investor snaps up Melbourne medical centre for $5m

A Melbourne medical asset has been purchased by a Hong Kong buyer in a $5 million deal in the latest wave of activity for the healthcare property sector.

Five tenants currently occupy the 1,630sqm property comprising two multistorey buildings and providing a passing income of $220,000 per annum.

CBRE’s healthcare dream team of Jimmy Tat, Sandro Peluso, Marcello Caspani-Muto and Josh Twelftree helped negotiate the sale of the medical precinct, located at 169-171 Stud Road in Wantirna.

Mr Tat says the healthcare sector is booming at the moment and he and his team are being inundated with inquiries for listed medical assets.

“We’re seeing more investors gravitate towards healthcare as an asset class due to its relative security given our ageing population and the increasing demand for medical service nationally,” he explains.

“Evidencing this, there was significant interest in this Stud Road medical precinct, with nine competitive bidders – six of which were local and the other three Asia-based.”

The reopening of the Victorian economy, coupled with the general stabilising of the wider Australian economy, is helping to reignite confidence in commercial real estate, with many investors looking for premium location assets and strong lease covenants

Jimmy Tat

The Wantirna property was sold via an expressions-of-interest campaign and is home to clinics servicing lymphoedema and rehab as well as a physiotherapist, dentist and a specialist medical group.

Mr Peluso says the sector’s relative stability is behind the growing investor demand for prime healthcare properties.

“Even in the middle of a pandemic it’s proving to be a stable income-producing asset class,” he says.

“Healthcare property investors are less likely to feel the pressure of rental relief or long-term vacancies than traditional asset classes, which is a priority consideration for many investors,” he adds.

A lot of investors are pulling money out of super and establishing SMSFs to invest in commercial property, providing a greater and more reliable return than those funds that are exposed heavily to equity markets

Sandro Peluso