Queensland shopping centres fly off shelves
Neighbourhood shopping centres in Queensland are trading at crisp rates with the returns reflecting the desire of investors for safe assets.
More than $100 million worth of centres have changed hands this week as established investors look to the sector, which is offering steady returns despite the broader retail malaise.
In the largest play, local developer Consolidated Properties teamed up with property investment house CVS Lane Capital Partners to purchase the Great Western Super Centre, in the northwest Brisbane suburb of Keperra, for $84.5 million.
It is the first transaction of the year for the veteran joint-venture duo, which shares a $485 million portfolio that includes seven shopping hubs complete, under renovation or in the pipeline.
Consolidated chairman Don O’Rorke says the position of the established neighbourhood centre in a high-growth corridor presents a strong opportunity to attract new tenants to improve the retail offering. The sale was negotiated by JLL’s Jacob Swan and Sam Hatcher.
Foreign interest is also firing up in the state’s southeast.
An offshore-based Taiwanese shopping centre investor has added another Queensland centre, in Brisbane’s north, to its portfolio for $26.35 million.
The sale of Taigum Village Shopping Centre reflected a fully leased yield of 5.44%, with more than four-fifths of the space leased to supermarket giant Coles on a 20-year lease.
CBRE agent Joe Tynan says the Taigum sale had been underpinned by residential growth in the area, including the adjacent retirement centre’s expansion.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve noticed a substantial shift in sentiment towards the neighbourhood shopping centre category, with a resurgence of investor confidence fuelled by the current low cost of debt and a noticeable lack of supply,” Tynan says.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
