This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AUSTRALIAN Unity has tipped Woodvale Boulevard neighbourhood shopping centre in Perth’s affluent north to the market, which includes just the second full-line supermarket to come to the market since 2020.
Retail transactions dried up in the March quarter as the broader commercial real estate market engaged in a period of price rediscovery, and Australian Unity will be hoping the lack of opportunities recently taken to the market will attract plenty of capital to Woodvale Boulevard.
JLL’s Nick Willis, Sam Hatcher, Nigel Freshwater and Sean Flynn have been appointed to sell the property at 931 Whitfords Avenue.
Woodvale Boulevard is anchored by a strong performing Woolworths supermarket and supported by a mix of 25 daily needs specialty retailers, with a major tenant weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of four and a half years.
The Woolworths supermarket’s moving annual turnover (MAT) is 19.5% above the Urbis benchmark.
“Woodvale Boulevard is a unique investment opportunity in the affluent northern corridor of Perth. The centre is anchored by a strong performing Woolworths which dominates the trade area, and provides additional value add opportunities,” Willis said.
Upside comes in the form of low average rents and low average specialty occupancy costs of 9.3%.
“The neighbourhood market in Western Australia is tightly held, and more broadly, available investment supply nationally is down 17% in 2023 compared to the five-year average.
“Given the sub-sector’s robust performance in recent years, we have seen an accelerated level of capital shift their attention to the asset class.
The centre is set on a 27,200 sqm land holding located in a catchment in which the average household income is $121,446, 6.2% above the Western Australian average.
“It is unique to acquire neighborhoods that provide strong value add and growth potential,” Hatcher said. Woodvale provides a low specialty rent profile that is currently 18.7% below the Urbis benchmark.
JLL data shows retail transactions this year are down 30% on the five-year average for the months of January to April.
“Due to the lack of activity seen so far, it is expected that Woodvale Boulevard will gain significant engagement from investors from both local and offshore capital,” Hatcher said.
Expressions of Interest for Woodvale Boulevard close on Thursday, 15th June.
