Canberra's Australia Place building on Mort Street sold for $41.5 million

Canberra’s Australia Place has been sold to an interstate investor for $41.5 million.

CBRE brokered the deal with Western Australian property developer Ascot Capital.

The building at 14 Mort Street in the city houses the Department of Employment, its lease expiring in mid-2024.

The Canberra building is among five commercial assets being sold by Charter Hall Group through CBRE.

CBRE Canberra managing director Andrew Stewart said a growing number of commercial investors from interstate and overseas had turned their attention to the nation’s capital in the past two years.

This was primarily due to a lack of competition for good quality stock in east coast cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as the ACT’s competitive yields.

“There are better returns in Canberra than in other capital cities,” he said.

Mr Andrews expected the territory’s investment momentum to continue over the next year, off the back of a bumper 2015.

Nine major commercial assets in the ACT sold for more than $10 million last year, including the $225 million sale of the Louisa Lawson Building in Greenway and the $75 million sale of 134 Reed Street in the same suburb.

The first three months of 2016 have already seen a string of major commercial assets enter the market, including Woden’s Aviation House, which could fetch more than $70 million.

A huge slice of prime real estate at 92 Northbourne Avenue, which has been approved for commercial and multi-unit residential use, comes with a $20 million-plus price tag.

“I don’t expect it [investor interest] to slow down,” Mr Andrews said.

“We’ve been busy, if not busier, than last year – and last year was a busy year.”

Australia Place is an eight-storey, A-grade commercial office building with 9384 square metres of space.

– with the Financial Review