Egg farm on Melbourne's outskirts sold to Japanese telco for $45m
Japanese telco giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp has struck the first significant housing site deal in Melbourne this year after agreeing to pay about $45 million for a former egg farm in South Morang.
It is the fourth major land deal struck by NTT in Melbourne, after it acquired a large site on Donnybrook Road in Melbourne’s north for more than $100 million in July 2021 to add to two sites acquired in 2020.
Sales of development sites in Melbourne have slowed to a trickle in the past six months after more than $1 billion worth of sites changed hands in 2021.
Back then, developers were rebuilding their future pipelines after selling out most of their stock on the back of the HomeBuilder boom.
However, appetite for new acquisitions has waned on the back of a slump in buyer demand as higher interest rates have curtailed borrowing power. Last year, sales of greenfield housing lots in Melbourne more than halved according to the Urban Development Institute’s State of the Land Report.
A return to more buoyant market conditions is forecast from 2024.
Banking on this comeback, NTT, the world’s fourth-largest telecommunications company by revenue, has partnered with local greenfield developer Yourland, which has projects in Bendigo, Melbourne and Torquay.
Its latest acquisition – a 12.1ha site at 1215 Plenty Road – is surrounded by existing housing estates and is about a 45-minute drive from the Melbourne city centre.
It was offered for sale by the Nesci family who owned it for more than 40 years and have a long history in egg farming. Zaynoun Melham, Ed Wright and Jun Lai from RPM Group brokered the sale.
The agents said the former farm generated interest from local developers, as well as interstate and offshore groups looking to secure a significant infill development opportunity.
“With more than 400 metres of frontage to Plenty Road, this property offers the buyer an opportunity to deliver one of Melbourne’s most prestigious and sought-after greenfield project,” Mr Wright said.
On the other side of the country, another farming property – on a much larger scale – is set to make way for housing in the years to come.
Situated at Caraban, about an hour north of Perth, Moore River South, a 2103-hectare ocean-fronting cattle station is being offered for sale by the Plunkett family, founders of WA home builder Plunkett Homes.
The huge site, which the Plunketts have owned for 50 years, is being sold with approvals in place for a master-planned community that will incorporate housing for approximately 5000 residents as well as retail, mixed business, tourism and public recreation components.
Price expectations for Moore River South are in excess of $40 million through JLL’s Sean Flynn and Nigel Freshwater and Core Land’s Kane Malcomson and Trent Malcomson.
“Moore River South is a prime investment opportunity offered to market at a time when developers can position themselves for the next property market upswing,” said Mr Flynn.
“Moore River South is expected to serve as Perth’s new day-trip recreational destination while still offering an easy commute for permanent residents,” he added.
“We’re effectively offering one of the state’s largest land residential subdivision platforms,” Mr Malcomson added.
