This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
DEXUS and CFS Retail Property Trust have kicked off the first inter-property trust transaction in a while, with the sale of a shopping centre in Tasmania for $70.1 million.
The transaction negotiated by Simon Rooney of Jones Lang LaSalle and Knight Frank was the joint agent.
The transaction of Northgate Shopping Centre in Glenorchy reflects a yield of 9.60% and a sale rate of $3,649 per sqm.
CFX’ fund manager Michael Gorman said the acquisition is consistent with its overall investment strategy .
Rooney said this sale has taken total sub-regional shopping centre transactions for the first eight months of 2009 to approximately $628.4 million, with the average initial yield reflecting 8.61%.
“This represents almost double the total of sub regional shopping centres sales transacted throughout 2008, when approximately $324 million exchanged hands at an average initial yield of 7.18%.
“The sale also marks the beginning of a controlled re-entry of the institutional investor back into the Australian retail property market, for attractive, high quality, counter cyclical opportunities such as Northgate, in a market where the recent buyer profile has been overwhelmingly dominated by private and syndicate investors,” he added.
JLL research shows private investors and syndicates have dominated retail transactions. Last month a private investor paid $77.5 million for the Wynnum Plaza in Wynnum West, Queensland from ING.
In July a private syndicate bought the Ingle Farm Shopping Centre in Ingle Farm, SA for $80.75 million from Colonial First State Property’s Direct Property Investment Fund. In the same time, ING also sold the Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre in Endeavour Hills, Victoria for $80 million to private investors.
GPT also sold the Floreat Forum Shopping Centre in Floreat, Western Australia for $100 million to a syndicate and Macquarie CountryWide Trust sold the Nambour Plaza in Nambour, QLD for $51.05 million to a syndicate.
In fact the only institutional activity was in January this, when Aspen Group sold the Gardentown Shopping Centre in Toowoomba, QLD for $30 million to QIC.
“Market evidence would now seem to indicate that yields have begun to plateau, with only limited further softening of between 25 to 50 basis points expected in some cases for prime assets over the next 6 to 12 months,” he concluded.
Australian Property Journal
