This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A Melbourne-based private investment group has snapped up the recently opened Warbu-Bellmere Shopping Centre in the Sunshine Coast growth corridor for $37.75 million, as Queensland’s retail sector continues to attract new market entrants.
The 5,164 sqm shopping centre opened in August last year and is underpinned by a 10-year lease to Woolworths, which occupies 71% of the centre and serves as the largest full-line supermarket in the main trade area.
CBRE’s Michael Hedger and Joe Tynan brokered the sale on behalf of Woolworths Group with the sale price reflecting a 5.52% yield.
Hedger said there is a “wave” of new entrants into the sector seeking long term investment opportunities, and told Australian Property Journal that CBRE Queensland has transacted seven neighbourhood centres in the last 12 months totalling $246 million.
“What is evident is that six out of these seven sales were either new buyers into the neighbourhood sector or new into the Queensland retail investment market with the buyers originating from Victoria, NSW and mainland China.”
Hedger told Australian Property Journal there are strong enquiry levels when neighbourhood centres are presented formally to the market, a trend expected to continue in the second half of the year.
“We feel this is driven by the demand from the private sector outweighing the supply being offered to the market, coupled with the ongoing pressures being noticed in the construction industry further restricting new supply of centres,” he said.
CBRE research shows that Queensland has seen minimal neighbourhood transactions in the first half of 2024, down 56% when compared to this time last year.
Total shopping centre sales volumes have significantly, according to CBRE Research, however, the neighbourhood sector has continued to dominate the total national sales volume accounting for 64% of all shopping centre transactions as investors look for resilient assets with predictable cash flow in these economic conditions.
A Woolworths-anchored neighbourhood shopping centre north of Perth that has just been completed by the supermarket giant’s construction arm Fabcot hit the market in March and remains for sale. Fabcot, meanwhile, picked up two hectares of shopping centre development land in Perth’s Eglinton at the end of May for $13 million.
The Warbu-Bellmere centre features the latest format Woolworths direct-to-boot drive-through service and includes an alfresco food and dining precinct with café, pizza, kebab, and sushi operators. It also includes a BWS, Discount Drug Store and Snap Fitness.
The centre is positioned to benefit from the significant growth corridor of Caboolture West, tipped to see 6.9% per annum population growth over the next 15 years along with retail expenditure growth of 4.2% per annum.
Tynan said a “noticeable” trend being seen is a higher percentage of Victorian-based investors purchasing assets in Queensland due to the new imposed land tax laws introduced in Victoria.
