Spring property market filling up with prestige properties in Victoria

Iconic and heritage Victorian properties have hit the market in time for a bumper spring.

Significant properties have hit the Victorian property market in time for spring.

THE spring property market has sprung to life with the sale of one of Victoria’s biggest dairy operations and the listing of a Western District icon.

The Weekly Times can reveal the nation’s biggest dairy farming operation, Australian Fresh Milk Holdings, has purchased the 2051ha Torrumbarry Estate, west of Echuca.

The sale follows confirmation Talindert Homestead at Camperdown — once home to TAB founding chairman Sir Chester Manifold — and the Moyhu Wagyu aggregation at Meadow Creek in North East Victoria are also on the market.

Torrumbarry Estate was listed earlier this year for about $20 million. On current local property prices Talindert Homestead could fetch more than $8 million while Moyhu Wagyu is being offered on a walk-in, walk-out basis for about $14 million.

The sale and listings follow a rush of high-profile properties and portfolios on to the market in recent months as sellers seek to capitalise on strong demand for farmland.

Significant properties listed include Yalouk Estate, at Ballan, which has an estimate price of $50 million, and famed Gippsland property Nambrok which has an asking price of $20 million.

MORE: DAIRY GIANT BUYS TORRUMBARRY ESTATE

ALL EYES ON WESTERN DISTRICT FAVOURITE

In southern NSW, Gilgal, at Cootamundra, is on the market for $27-$32 million while Mt Falcon Station at Tooma, which passed in at auction earlier this month for $13-$14 million remains for sale at $15 million.

Duncan McCulloch from Colliers International said there was strong interest from buyers looking for quality assets of scale.

“Western Victoria is going from strength to strength with increased levels of interest from northern producers looking for quality properties in high rainfall areas,” he said.

Peter Ryan of CBRE Agribusiness told The Weekly Times the terms of the Torrumbarry Estate sale prevented him from commenting.

A sold sticker has been affixed to the billboard advertising the sale at the entrance to the property but it’s understood the sale has not yet been settled.

AFMH — a partnership between the Moxey and Perich families with Freedom Foods holding a 10 per cent stake — is also believed to have purchased 810ha of adjoining land.

AFMH co-managing director Michael Perich declined to comment on the sale when contacted by The Weekly Times this week.

Torrumbarry Estate is AFMH’s second major purchase in Victoria in the past 12 months. In January it finalised its purchase of the Coomboona Dairy at Undera in the Goulburn Valley for about $46 million.

Coomboona, which runs 2500 dairy cows producing about 30 million litres of milk annually, was previously owned by retail giant Harvey Norman but placed into receivership last March.

AFM, which was reportedly forecast to produce more than 150 million litres of milk this year, also operate the fully-integrated Moxey Farms dairy business at Gooloogong in centralwest NSW.

Torrumbarry Estate runs about 1100 dairy cows, includes about 800ha of developed irrigation and comes with 5000 megalitres of water. Improvements include a 50-unit rotary dairy, a 400-cow feed pad and a 10-bedroom home.

Expressions of interest closed in June.

Major corporate agriculture players have moved swiftly in recent months to offload signature farms and portfolios.

Last month, pastoral giant Clark and Tait last month announced plans to sell its seven stations in western Queensland totalling more than 530,000 hectares and US cotton business Auscott listed its 17,034ha Midkin aggregation and ginning facilities at Moree in NSW for a reported $300 million.

In July, Chinese-backed Rifa Salutary announced it would offload its 14 properties in NSW and Victoria, totalling 44,000 hectares. Agents say this portfolio, which includes the 2400-hectare Blackwood Station at Dunkeld in Victoria and the 22,500-hectare Cooplacurripa Station at Gloucester in NSW, could realise “north of $150 million”.