This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
IN an example of the power of social media, an eagle-eyed local owner occupier and prominent CBD building owner holidaying in Europe has snapped up a South Melbourne office building for $6.56 million – after virtually both spotting and touring the asset.
Clarke House – a multi-storey 1,025 sqm commercial building at 101 Clarke Street – was put to the market by its vendor, Piping Hot managing director Mark Johannsen, and set to go to auction last Friday.
The holidaymaker, meanwhile, saw enough on social media and in the virtual tour to swoop on the building 24 hours before it went under the gavel.
Offered vacant, Clarke House sits atop flexible commercial 2 zoning and features modern open plan office floorspace, end-of-trip facilities, 16 off-street car parks, and 47 metres of street frontage. The property also enjoys connectivity to key arterials including the Monash Freeway, Melbourne’s CBD and public transport network.
The transaction was brokered by Jones Real Estate’s Paul Jones and Luke Peric, who took on listing after two other agencies ran unsuccessful expressions of interest campaigns over a combined 300 days. The best unconditional offer received by the vendor over the previous two campaigns was $6 million.
The Jones Real Estate campaign ran for 38 days and received 49 enquiries, many of which the agents said came from social and digital media channels.
Jones Real Estate implemented a digital media-driven campaign and building repositioning strategy that included rebranding the asset to Clarke House, previously listed as 101-105 Clarke Street, and utilised video content rolled out via paid social media to attract international participation, which the agents said drove roughly 40,000 views on Facebook and Instagram.
“The importance of making a property stand out across digital in the current market is crucial to a campaign’s success, and Clarke House is a prime example of this. Leveraging the power of social media has become a key enabler for amplifying visually enticing marketing assets and is now a core focus in our strategy development,” Jones said.
