Singapore buyers snap up eastern suburb sites

Singapore-based buyers are at the forefront of recent activity in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

Colliers International agent Peter Bremner said the group had sold three development sites in the popular middle-ring suburb of Doncaster for a combined $40 million in the past eight months indicating a growing maturity in the apartment market.

''Five years ago it was a struggle. It's now very mature,'' Mr Bremner said. ''There is a definite theme emerging, with the last three site sales in Doncaster all being to Singaporean purchasers.''

A property with a permit for 273 apartments and 2000 sq m of commercial development at 642-654 Doncaster Road opposite Shopping Town sold last month for more than $13 million to a private Singaporean buyer.

The property was owned by Englehart Homes founder Ron Englehart who offloaded the 3964-square-metre block with a permit for a 12-level residential building called The Summit designed by Peddle Thorpe Architects.

Earlier this year, the 2.8 hectare former Morrison Brothers Nursery site in Williamsons Road was purchased for $19.28 million by Singapore-based Chip Eng Seng's CEL Australia.

The group is planning up to 100 townhouses and 50 apartments. Late last year, a car park behind the shopping centre at 1 Grosvenor Street sold to Ho Bee Land, another listed Singapore entity, for $8.5 million.

Ho Bee will use an existing permit that allows 185 apartments on the site and has begun pre-sales for the project called Pearl.

The Doncaster Hill precinct has seen several recent high-rise projects including The Pinnacle, Madison and an affordable housing project, Haven, Mr Bremner said.

Construction has begun of another stage of Sovereign Point Court, a project by the locally based, but Chinese-backed, AXF Group.

Two other apartments are selling off the plan - Panorama at 101 Tram Road and 88 Doncaster Hill at 88 Tram Road. Similar interest was being shown in nearby suburbs, said CBRE's Jamus Campbell.

Groups like Chinese-backed JD International were seeking development opportunities, with sites in Box Hill and Blackburn expected to be hotly contested, he said.

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