** Shares of Australian Unity Office Fund AOF.AX rise as much as 2.1% to A$1.24, posting their largest intraday pct gain since late September

** Real estate investment trust declares a special dividend of 9 AU cents per unit

** Announcement comes after the settlement of property sales in Canberra for A$21.2 mln ($13.73 mln)

** Stock hits highest level since Oct. 1

** AOF up 23.5% YTD, as of 0107 GMT

($1 = 1.5442 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru)

((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))