A new report from Knight Frank has revealed the heightened amount of capital seeking investment opportunities in the CBD through 2015.
A total of $6.2 billion of transactions took place in the CBD over the year, compared with $4.6 billion the previous year.
However, this amount was materially boosted by two significantly large transactions, namely the purchase by China Investment Corporation (CIC) of the Investa Property Group (IPG) portfolio for $2.45 billion and the sale of Tower 1 at Barangaroo into a new wholesale fund for circa $2 billion.
Below is a a list of the top 6 commercial transactions in Sydney's CBD and near-CBD for 2015:
INVESTA PROPERTY GROUP PORTFOLIO SALE
320 PITT ST
110 GOULBURN ST
35 CLARENCE ST
According to the report, deal volumes as measured by the number of transactions recorded indicated a contrasting story. Transactions of over $10 million during 2015 totalled 28, of which 13 occurred during the first half of the year.
"These figures were well below the 42 transactions recorded in 2014, a trend that was indicative of the lack of opportunities in the market despite the presence of a deep pool of unsatisfied capital. The majority of transactions continue to involve offshore buyers, who accounted for 60% of deal volume (by value) during the 2015 calendar year."
"This trend has now been in place for five years, with offshore purchases amounting to 56% of the CBD transaction total since the beginning of 2011. Although there remains strong buyer demand in the market, limited buying opportunities in the prime market is expected to see the majority of transaction activity stem from investors targeting non-core or value add assets over the next year."