As we touched on yesterday in our weekly Deals of the Week release, Colliers agents Leon Ma and Joe Kairouz were able to help facilitate the sale of a major vacant development site in the heart of Ringwood, VIC. The Knowles Group, via their retirement living subsidiary Arcare Aged Care, acquired 313-317 Canterbury Road, in the process snapping up 5,680 sqm of land in one of the biggest growth pockets throughout all of Melbourne.
The sale brings to light the sheer breadth of development occurring within Melbourne’s east. Suburbs like Ringwood, Box Hill and Mitcham are in the midst of serious residential and commercial expansion, as many residents opt for the leafy suburban vistas that eastern Melbourne offers aplenty.
As indicated in the Ringwood Metropolitan Activity Centre Masterplan, the Maroondah City Council’s ultimate goal is to see Ringwood “transition towards becoming a modern activity centre for the eastern region.” In terms of amenity and commercial facilities, it’s on its way; the major redevelopment and expansion of the Eastland Shopping Centre illustrates how enthusiastic retail developers and tenants are to engage with both the local and transient Ringwood community.
Photo courtesy of Ringwood Metropolitan Activity Centre Masterplan
The reason they’re so eager to set-up shop in the “gateway to the Yarra Valley” can largely be attributed to the local council’s commitment to creating high density residential housing, to establish Ringwood and its surrounding localities as a sort of secondary CBD. According to the Masterplan, “people moving into Ringwood... are young professionals, who are leaving the family home within Maroondah, or an ageing cohort who are downsizing from the family home.”
To appease these demographics, predominant land use zones in Ringwood are Commercial 1 Zoning and Residential Growth Zoning (RGZ). A significant portion of RGZ space is taken up by apartments, providing affordable living options for both those younger professionals that might produce less income than their older counterparts, and those who might be transitioning into aged care spaces.
Perhaps this is the reason the Knowles Group reserved $7.5 million for the purchase of 313-317 Canterbury Road.
“Competition was robust from an array of buyer types including traditional residential developers and social infrastructure developers such as childcare and retirement living”, stated Colliers agent, Leon Ma.
According to District Data, the vacancy rate within the suburb sits at 1% - this figure presents as marginally tighter than the July 2022 vacancy rate for Melbourne at large, which stands at 1.6%. Ringwood seems well-positioned to handle such demand, given it has a relatively large speculative stock of apartments either planned or being developed.
Whilst the suburb’s median sales price has effectively doubled over the past decade, going from $507,000 in 2011 to $1.001 million in 2022, median weekly rent has only risen by 30% in the same time span, rising from $350 in 2011 to $455 in 2022. For the demographic that the Maroondah City Council are actively trying to appeal to, Ringwood offers a range of intriguing opportunities for those who might be seeking an alternative to Melbourne CBD living.
Artist impression of Vicinity Centres' Box Hill Central Residential Tower
This mirrors the kind of development seen most notably in Box Hill, where some of the largest high-rise residential buildings outside of the inner city grace the suburb's skylines. Whitehorse Towers from Deague Group, located a short walk from Box Hill Central, stretches as high as 36-storeys, and Vicinity Centres has just recently receieved approval to redevelop Box Hill Central into a world-class mixed-use and retail precinct, which will reportedly feature a new apartment tower that will have capacity for more than 600 residents.
Melbourne's east is rapidly establishing itself as the suburban capital of Victoria, and postcodes like Ringwood and Box Hill are helping to provide immediate, world-class amenity for those who want to eschew making the trek into the CBD. If the sale of 313-317 Canterbury Road is indication of anything, it's that Ringwood doesn't seem poised to slow down anytime soon.
View the listing for 313-317 Canterbury Road on DevelopmentReady here.
