This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
EIGHT Parramatta Road sites have changed hands for nearly $42 million as retailers look to expand their physical footprints post-pandemic.
The latest deal has seen a piano company snap up the Clyde site at 35-37 Parramatta Road with plans to open a major showroom.
CBRE’s Robert Dowdy negotiated the Clyde transaction and the other recent sales as retailers show a heightened interest in high exposure, main road properties.
“Many of these sites are coming to market for the first time in decades, with 35-37 Parramatta Road attracting over 120 enquiries after being offered for sale for the first time in 20 years,” Dowdy said.
Parramatta Road is one of Sydney’s major arterials and offers daily exposure to more than 30,000 cars. This has already attracted major national and international brand heavyweights including Costco, Harvey Norman, Kmart, Bunnings Warehouse, Coco Republic and Fantastic Furniture.
“Main road locations like Parramatta Road provide maximum brand exposure and owner occupiers will pay a premium for that,” Dowdy said.
“Despite COVID-19 and online shopping becoming more prevalent, shoppers still want to touch and feel the products, whether it’s furniture, electronics, clothing, self-storage or fast food.”
CBRE’s recent APAC Retail Flash survey showed 83% of Australian respondents said they planned to open more stores this year, with just 8% intending to decrease their network size. It also found that 61% of the Australian respondents plan to improve their store locations, and one-third intend to increase the size of their footprints to build more experiential elements into their stores.
Long-time owners on Parramatta Road are moving to capitalise on the benchmark sales prices.
Among the major deals were the 2,655 sqm showroom, warehouse and office at 259-263 Parramatta Road in Auburn selling for $8,500,000, while 211-217 Parramatta Road sold for $7,165,000, 218-224 Parramatta Road for $4,700,000, and 147 & 149-151 Parramatta Road for $4,775,000.
Also in Auburn, 293-295 Parramatta Road sold for $3,545,000, while the vacant Unit 1/2 Parramatta Road in Clyde sold for $3,560,000 and 709-711 Parramatta Road in Leichhardt sold for $4,800,000.
The next test of the market is Phil Gilbert Toyota’s 3,174 sqm landholding at 66-72 Parramatta Road. Robert Dowdy and John Hill & Co’s Sam Hill are managing expressions of interest campaign, closing 8th June.
