THE sale of six prime commercial properties totalling $18 million in Cairns has given the market some "much needed confidence".

They include the TNT site at Woree, the PFD Foods depot at Manunda, the Blackwoods property at Portsmith, the Howards Storage World building at Westcourt and a development site at 315-321 Mulgrave Rd opposite Spotlight.

Details of the sixth property will be released at a later date.

CB Richard Ellis Cairns managing director Danny Betros said the properties reflected "fair value in a tough market".

"The sales activity reflects a confidence in the commercial market and points particularly to the ‘position-position’ rule," he said.

"All properties are in great locations and are ideal for the investor or owner-occupier market."

Mr Betros said the properties were all acquired by Cairns people.

"The point is that despite the economy there are still local people buying commercial property," he said.

"There’s not a lot of property on the market. It is being very tightly held.

"They are all local, not southern buyers who are very much sticking to their local market.

"There’s no shortage of local money, it’s about having confidence. The market has reached bottom and there’s no better time to buy."

Mr Betros said once people started seeing others having certainty in the market "they’ll jump in".

He said the properties were "blue chip" and in prime high-traffic locations.

The Woree property was sold for $4.2 million to local investors with a 10-year lease to the TNT logistics and transport group as well as spare land of 2200sq m.

It’s in Spoto St in the Woree Business and Industrial Park.

The Portsmith property, sold to a local investor for $2.5 million, includes a 1750sq m building occupied by the Blackwoods engineering and industrial product chain on a 10-year lease.

The PFD Foods storage facility in Anderson St, Manunda, surplus to the company’s requirements, was sold to a local storage and distribution company for $1.3 million. It includes a 2550sq m
warehouse.

A private investor bought the Howards Storage World building in Mulgrave Rd at Westcourt for $1.33 million. Howards has two years left on its lease.

The development site at 315-321 Mulgrave Rd was sold to a local businessman for $1.75 million.

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