Melbourne Property Investors Embrace Docklands Serviced Apartments

Nov. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- A host of new opportunities are opening up for investors in Melbourne’s booming Docklands precinct, property investment services company Onyx announced today. In particular, serviced apartments are proving to be a particularly strong investment choice for investors wanting a better return on investment than is available from traditional residential properties.  Serviced apartments can deliver a return that is 2-4% higher than that available from other property investment models.

Current serviced apartment offerings are being particularly well received by the Melbourne property investment community because they overcome a number of the perceived shortcomings of this type of investment, such as vacancy risk or potential resale problems.   This is due to developers offering guaranteed returns on investments, and new properties becoming available which are closer in size to normal residential apartments, enhancing their resale value.

‘What we are witnessing is really a maturing of the whole Docklands precinct and development process,’ said Onyx Managing Director Paul Thewlis.  ‘There are now many long-term, well established corporate tenants in the Docklands, such as NAB or the ATO. There are also several companies that have considerable experience in managing serviced apartments.  These two factors have come together so that now developers are confident to offer investors guaranteed returns on their investments.’

Developers such as Life.lab @ Digital Harbour are even improving on this security by building flexibility into their packages as well. ‘In many cases there is now the opportunity for the investor to occupy the apartment at any time.  If you look at the traditional model of serviced apartments, this is something that wouldn’t have been around even 5 or 6 years ago.  It’s exciting to see such innovative proposals coming onto the market, and it only means good news for investors,’ commented Mr Thewlis.

The Docklands is seen as a particularly good area for serviced apartment investment due to its large number of high profile corporate tenants.  ‘The combination of business travelers and career focused individuals who are looking for streamlined simplicity in their private lives means there is a steady supply of high quality tenants for serviced apartments in the Docklands,’ added Mr Thewlis.

A recent poll published in the Docklands News surveyed Docklands residents and found that on the whole, residents were welcoming of serviced apartments in their neighbourhood.

Given that the Docklands is Australia’s fastest growing precinct, it’s definitely a good idea for smart investors to keep an eye on the serviced apartment trend.

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Onyx is a property investment services company that helps clients create wealth by sourcing property opportunities, arranging mortgage finance, and conveyancing. The Onyx team is respected in the property investor community for its insight and integrity.