Crumbling Albion unit block sells for $1.7m

Albion unit block sells for $1.7m

Cracked walls, crumbling brickwork and an engineer’s warning couldn’t stop a stampede of buyers chasing a rundown Albion block.

The rare site at 8 Sydney St drew more than 300 contract requests and up to 20 inquiries a day, despite carrying a blunt disclaimer of “major structural issues, engineer’s report available.”

When the hammer finally fell the twin-building complex of seven two-bedroom apartments on 834sq m had sold for $1.702m — well above its quoted $1.2-$1.3m price hopes.
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Albion unit block sells for $1.7m

The rare site at drew more than 300 contract requests and up to 20 inquiries a day.

Ray White Sunshine managing director Marcus Fregonese said the intensity of interest was extraordinary given the risks.

“We had buyers from across Melbourne and interstate,” Mr Fregonese said.

“They weren’t worried about the cracks, they were looking at the land, the rental streams and the growth story in this corridor.

“Blocks like this just don’t come up.”

All seven apartments are vacant and in need of work, some with dated kitchens.

All seven apartments are vacant and in need of work, some with dated kitchens, tired bathrooms and worn flooring underscoring the scale of repairs required.

Marketing materials projected potential returns of about $130,000 a year in rent once refurbished, with further uplift possible through redevelopment or subdivision.

Mr Fregonese said bidders were willing to gamble because of Albion’s strategic location.

“Even with structural challenges, the long-term fundamentals are too strong to ignore,” he said.

“Albion and Sunshine remain among the most affordable inner-west growth zones, and investors recognise the value of holding land here.”

The units are projected to earn about $130,000 a year in rent once refurbished.

Albion has long been viewed as one of Melbourne’s sleeper suburbs. Median house prices sit in the mid-$600,000s according to PropTrack, making it one of the city’s more accessible inner-west markets compared with nearby Sunshine, where the median is edging closer to $750,000.

The suburb’s connectivity is also a major drawcard.

Albion Station is within walking distance of the Sydney Street site, while Sunshine’s CBD, pegged as a key transport super-hub in the future Melbourne Airport Rail project, is only minutes away.

Multi-unit sales of this scale are scarce in the corridor with comparable blocks in surrounding suburbs have fetched between $1.4m and $1.6m in the past two years, though most did not carry the same level of structural warning.

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