KFC and HeyTea anchored Glen Waverley site hits $9.39m

David Bonaddio

First published 01 October 2025, 10:00am

Glen Waverley’s Kingsway strip soared to $9.39m in a frenzied auction anchored by household names and fuelled by the coming Suburban Rail Loop.

A Glen Waverley strip anchored by KFC and HeyTea has sold in a frenzy, with buyers banking on the Suburban Rail Loop to supercharge the suburb’s future.

More than 150 people spilled onto Kingsway to watch the $9.39m showdown, as the site anchored by KFC and HeyTea drew one of Melbourne’s most competitive suburban auctions this year.

Seven bidders slugged it out in a heated contest, with average bid rises of $109,000 and the price surging almost $2.3m above the “on market” call.
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The result delivered a razor-thin 2.99 per cent yield — a rare outcome in strip retail — and highlighted the booming demand for investment in Melbourne’s east.

Stonebridge Property Group director Nic Hage said the depth of competition proved Kingsway had become one of the city’s most tightly held strips.

“Traditionally you’d expect yields closer to 3.5 to 4 per cent,” Mr Hage said.

“Assets at this level almost never deliver such sharp returns, especially when the tenants are paying more than $1000 per square metre.”

More than 150 people crammed Kingsway to watch seven bidders slug it out, driving the price nearly $2.3m above the on-market call.

Fast food and bubble tea giants KFC and HeyTea anchor the freehold, generating more than $281,000 in net annual rent.

The freehold generates a net annual income of about $281,000, with household names KFC and bubble tea giant HeyTea anchoring the tenancy mix alongside 13 boutique office suites upstairs.

Mr Hage said the Suburban Rail Loop station under construction directly opposite the site was a “game changer” that elevated the strip into CBD territory.

“You add in the redevelopment of The Glen, the proximity to Monash and Deakin universities, and the Springvale Rd car park project…it all builds into the story of Glen Waverley becoming a genuine second-tier CBD,” he said.

The Suburban Rail Loop station in Glen Waverley is set to transform the suburb into a second-tier CBD. Picture: Google Maps

Designs show the new SRL station will open onto a landscaped boulevard, reshaping the Glen Waverley activity centre. Picture: Suburban Rail Loop Authority

The Stonebridge Property Group director said the winning buyer was not a typical strip investor but a group seeking a long-term “legacy asset” to pass down through generations.

“It shows how suburban retail is being treated more like blue-chip housing stock,” Mr Hage said.

“These assets are prized and tightly held, and people are willing to pay up.”

“Suburban strips were increasingly seen as safer than the city, if you look at a city sale on a 3.5 per cent yield, the confidence is clearly shifting outwards. Suburbs like Glen Waverley are viewed as more resilient.”

The $9.39m result equated to $25,270 per sqm, just shy of the record $34,000 per sqm set further along Kingsway in 2022.

Tunnel boring machines will arrive later this year, with tunnelling for the Suburban Rail Loop scheduled to kick off in early 2026. Picture: Suburban Rail Loop Authority