Yarra Junction shopping centre has $20m price hopes

A local family has put its Yarra Junction investment property on the market, and the sale could fetch them a whopping $20 million. 

The Yarra Junction shopping centre on Warburton Highway has been owned by the family for close to 15 years and is anchored by a Woolworths supermarket.

The 8230sqm site is also home to 11 speciality stores including a bakery, chemist, optometrist and Bendigo Bank. It reaps an annual income of $1.3 million.

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CBRE state director Justin Dowers says a surge in population and increasing tourism trade around the Yarra Valley provided the perfect time for the family to list the neighbourhood retail centre.

“The centre has had a strong trading history for over 25 years and has continued to benefit from a consistent growth in population in addition to tourism within the Yarra Valley region,” Dowers says.

“The property has a lot of value-add opportunity and the vendors recognise there may be a buyer who is better placed for that.”

The Yarra Junction shopping centre, anchored by Woolworths supermarket, has hit the market after being owned by a local family for about 15 years.

Dowers says the supermarket is trading exceptionally well and is in Victoria’s top 10% of performers on a rate per square metre, but could benefit from an expansion or refurbishment.

“Due to increasing demand for retail services in the Yarra Valley region, including Yarra Junction shopping centre, there is a clear opportunity to add value to this centre,” he says.

“There is a clear under supply of quality retail services in the location and this centre is very well placed to benefit from any capital investment.”

Dowers says baby boomers and young families are moving to the region to take advantage of its “relatively affordable” property market and appealing lifestyle.

Yarra Junction’s median house price has grown 46% in the past five years to $547,500, while the median house price in the Yarra Ranges as a whole has jumped 66.3% to $690,000, according to CoreLogic.

“People are moving because it’s not too far from Melbourne, it is good value and a fantastic lifestyle, which is fuelling population growth in the area and is why retail assets like this have performed so well,” he says.

High-net-worth local families and Asian buyers are expected to show interest in the shopping centre.

“The $20 million mark can suit a lot of people,” Dowers says.

“Even though it is regionally located, because it is in the Yarra Valley region it is well known and there is a lot of confidence.”

Offers for the centre close on November 29.

This article from Leader Newspapers originally appeared as “Yarra Junction shopping centre hits the market with $20 million price hopes”.