Harry Triguboff Makes $12 Million Flipping Sydney Beach Site

Harry Triguboff’s real estate firm Meriton Group, Australia’s largest apartment developer, has just turned a $13 million AU ($11.96 million US) profit by flipping a property that it had held for only five years, The Australian has reported.

The 3 hectare development site on Sydney’s northern beaches was acquired by Meriton in 2009 for only $5 million AU ($4.6 million US) in 2009 and has just sold it for $18 million AU ($16.56 million US) for a 260% profit. Harry Triguboff first marketed the property in June and at the time was asking for as much as $25 million AU ($23 million US). The market must be soft right now in Australia if he agreed to a 28% price cut after only three months.

It was acquired by the Sunland Development Group.

Meriton had intended to build a 280 unit residential complex there comprised of four story buildings, but it was forced to scrap its plans due to opposition from the local government which opposed anything larger than 84 units. The new owners intend to build 81 townhouses there.

Triguboff does not hide his disdain for local councils in Australia, blaming them for causing delays in and even cancelations of real estate developers’ projects. As he told one such council, “It takes so long to get approvals and I like to have continuity, ” he said. “(When I) have more land than I can build on, maybe we’ll stop buying so much.”

In other Meriton Group news, last month the firm entered into a Platinum Corporate Partnership with Livable Housing Australia to, as it said, “promote best practice benchmarks for livable design.” The two firms said that they will also promote, “universal standards of safety, comfort and design excellence.”