Record highs for prime retail investment sales

Investors’ insatiable appetite for prime retail real estate is set see investment sales in the sector produce new record highs this year.

This week alone, more than $120 million worth of retail property assets changed hands in Sydney and Adelaide.

The high-profile Oxford Square commercial retail complex in Sydney's CBD sold for $62.7 million to the Australian Property Opportunities Fund.

Photo: Oxford Square, Darlinghurst

Oxford Square is fully leased, with a net income of about $5,025,000 per annum. The site has a 48-metre frontage to Oxford Street and a total gross lettable area of 12,088 square metres.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s national head of retail investments Simon Rooney and manager of NSW retail investment sales Luke Harris oversaw the sale on behalf of a local private investor.

"While major deals above a$150 million still dominate the overall market, we’re also seeing an uplift in activity in the $50-150 million bracket this year", said Rooney, citing increased demand from the likes of syndicators and boutique fund managers

Such is the high level of demand that Rooney said including this most recent major sale, total retail transactions were at $5.3 billion.

"The current pace of activity suggests retail investment volumes are on track to produce a new record high in 2013, above the $6.5 billion recorded in 2012,” he said.

In a separate transaction, Charter Hall Retail REIT has acquired the Southgate Plaza in Adelaide's Morphett Vale for $60 million.

Photo: Southgate Plaza, Morphett Vale

The plaza is located 21 kilometres south-west of the Adelaide CBD and is anchored by a recently expanded Target store and a refurbished Coles supermarket.

JLL's Simon Rooney also negotiated the Southgate deal. ISPT was the vendor.

Total sub-regional transactions for 2013 are now at $963.7 million year to date. That compares to $983.2 million in 2012.