Private investors hunting yield amid locked-in record low interest rates and a volatile share market sent prices soaring as they splashed out over $67 million on childcare centres, medical centres, petrol stations and fast food outlets at a commercial property auction in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Crown Melbourne’s River Room was packed to its COVID-19 capacity and with investors bidding online, over the phones and from overseas, reserves were smashed by 9 per cent on average. In just a few hours, 20 out of 23 properties sold under the hammer, a clearance rate of 86 per cent.