Landmark suburban apartment site in Glen Waverley sells for $50.88 million

A significant property transaction in Melbourne’s suburbs has highlighted growing confidence in the suburban apartment market.

Key points:

The City of Monash has sold a 6,114 square metre mixed-use development site at 281 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley for $50.88 million.
The sale represents the largest metro/suburban apartment development site transaction of 2024.
Glen Carpark Pty Ltd acquired the site, which is currently a public car park known as the Central Car Park.
The sale price reflects a market-leading land rate of $8,322 per square metre.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Joe Kairouz commented on the transaction’s significance:

“The resilience of the suburban and metropolitan development site market, particularly for well-located sites offering scale, remains robust,” Kairouz said.

He added that the deal highlights ongoing demand for such sites, driven by housing affordability and supply issues in Melbourne.

Leon Ma, also from Cushman & Wakefield, noted strong interest from Asian developers:

“Asian developers, both established and new entrants, along with their capital partners, continue to view Melbourne as a highly attractive investment destination for residential housing,” Ma said.

The site’s key features include:

Three prominent road frontages totaling over 274 metres
Commercial 1 zoning
Location within a Major Activity Centre
Proximity to planned transportation infrastructure, including the proposed Suburban Rail Loop (East)

The competitive International Expressions of Interest campaign attracted over 100 enquiries from various buyer profiles, including local and interstate private developers, institutional developers, and Build-To-Rent developers and operators.

Settlement is set for 90 days, marking a swift conclusion to one of the year’s most significant property transactions.

This sale reinforces confidence in Melbourne’s suburban apartment market, particularly for well-located sites offering significant scale and development potential.