Unit blocks can be a smart investment offering buyers control over their portfolio

THEY can be rare to find but unit blocks in Sydney’s east could be the smarter alternative to buying individual dwellings across the city.

ENTIRE blocks of home units are becoming the newest hot property for investors.

Situated in prime locations with strong rental returns, apartment blocks in and around Bondi are recording gross rental yields of up to 4 per cent according to CoreLogic.

One of the solely residential blocks for sale is 36 Moore St. It features seven apartments including a penthouse and has a price guide of $6.8 million.

It is owned by Dr Henry Liberman and his brother Michael and has been listed for the first time since it was built in 1965.

Dr Liberman said owning an entire block gave buyers the flexibility to decide whether to keep the building as a whole or sell off the individual apartments.

“You control everything in that block; you make decisions on your own without having to go through strata or body corporate,” Dr Liberman said.

“Obviously you still have to comply with various guidelines that are required in any apartment block but you have more control over what actually goes on.”

The pair inherited the property from their family.

“My parents built it, we lived in it and we’ve owned it ever since, it’s been in our family for 50 years,” Mr Liberman said.

No. 36 Moore St, Bondi is on the market for $6.8 million.

No. 38 Warners Ave, North Bondi is on the market for $5.5 million.

“In the days when we first had it you could see all of Bondi Beach.

“Since then the trees have grown and covered the sand but you can still see the ocean, North Bondi and Dover Heights.”

The second solely residential block on the market is at 38 Warners Ave, North Bondi, where six two-bedroom units are up for auction with a guide of $5.5 million.

Michael Liberman pictured outside the block he is selling with his brother Henry.

Recent sales include 47 Gould St, Bondi Beach, which sold for $6.45 million and features nine one-bedroom apartments. In July, a block of seven apartments, including those of former Silverchair front man Daniel Johns sold at 278 Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach, for a reported $12 million.

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Century 21 Armstrong-Smith’s Nicholas Armstrong-Smith who has the Moore St listing said entire apartment blocks were hard to come by.

“There are two types of buyers for a property like this,” he said.

No. 278 Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach sold for a reported $12 million.

No. 47 Gould St, Bondi Beach sold for $6.45 million.

“Either it will be a family who purchase it and pass it down and have a rental income for a long time or investors or developers that will come along and renovate the properties and sell them off individually and see if they capitalise on the block.”

He also said owning an entire block gave vendors more control over their investment.

“If you have the means to invest in the block then it’s certainly the way to go especially if it’s in good area where rent and demand are good from a tenancy point of view,” he said.