Going their own way
Dynamic duo start up agency
COMMERCIAL property heavyweights Lachlan Harris and Mason Kidman are branching out on their own, launching boutique agency Avanti Commercial this week.
Mr Harris, former CBRE Gold Coast head of agency, and Mr Kidman, former CBRE associate director, have negotiated a number of high-profile deals in recent years.
They include 1295-1299 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach, which sold to agedcare provider Regis for $14.5 million.
They also snagged a buyer for a development site at Miles and Rutledge St, Kirra, which sold for $6.8 million. The pair also handled the sale of several government properties in the Coomera corridor.
The new agency with Avanti is partnered Project Marketing, run by Chris Magick and Trent Milburn, and is based at the same offices on 64 Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise. Mr Kidman said the market was the most active it had been in 10 years.
“The market is really active for development sites, in the middle market. That is, from 10 to 50 products, such as townhouses or units,” he said. “The secondary market is the high-rise market, over 100 products, which is constrained by finance issues, however there are transactions being achieved, just not at the level of the middle market.”
Mr Harris said the Commonwealth Games was raising the profile of the Gold Coast globally.
“It will have a beneficial impact on our tourism, and this does trickle down to the property market regarding not only hotels, but also retail and investment property. We do have one of the most liveable cities in the world,” he said.
Mr Harris said access to funds was still a problem.
“However, yields for investment stock are getting sharper and sharper. Yields of five or seven per cent are where most income-producing assets sit.”
Mr Kidman said the southern Gold Coast market remained “red hot”.
“We call it the great southern demand,” he said.
“There are a lot of locals who want to relocate to the suburbs south of Broadbeach such as Palm Beach, Currumbin and Tugun. There is a lot of people wanting to rent there, and that is bringing a lot of investors there. We see the market growing for another 12 months.”
Mr Harris said the teamup with Avanti Project Marketing, which is a separate business, made sense due to the synergies that could be achieved.
“We’re affiliated with their brand. They are dealing with a very similar clientele. They deal with developers on the sale of the end product and we will be dealing with them on site acquisitions, whether it is selling sites to the developers or for them.”
Mr Harris said their aim was to launch Avanti as a modern and vibrant commercial agency with local knowledge and international reach.