A WELL-KNOWN Perth family is understood to be the new owner of a significant swathe of Oxford Street after paying $9.5 million for four of Leederville’s most high-profile shopfronts.
The retail properties are leased by Funky Bunches, Ron Edwards & Associates, Siena’s Restaurant and Urban Records and sit at the very heart of Leederville’s commercial precinct.
Sales agent Conray Passaris from Realmark would not reveal the identity of the new owner but industry insiders suggested next-door neighbour and fellow Oxford Street retailer, Kailis Bros, might have had a careful look at the site.
The sale price sets a fresh record for Leederville and translates to about $9,000 a square metre for the site, which is pushing up towards Hay Street Mall prices.
Driven up by a competitive auction, the price also reflects investor confidence in the Town of Vincent’s master plan for Leederville as well as the Water Corporation’s redevelopment plans for its big landholding, which includes up to three new buildings as well as an extension of its head office.
Mr Passaris said the sale price was “out of the ball park” for Leederville but he pointed out sites in this small commercial precinct had historically been very tightly held.
“There is also a bit of movement in rents at the moment, there are a couple of tenants that are due for market rent reviews and the buyer would have seen that,” Mr Passaris said.
“$600 to $700/sqm is probably where rents are standing in that corridor and that’s working on 100sqm to 150sqm, however, some substantially higher rents than that have been achieved.”
Jones Lang LaSalle managing director John Williams said property on popular retail strips in near-city locations such as Leederville attracted a lot of interest because investors bought with the confidence their shops would always be leased.
“We find some of these buyers out there can also put their own businesses into these properties so they are not just looking at the return on the property,” Mr Williams said.
“And that makes it tough for a traditional investor to compete.”
Leederville’s proximity to the CBD, West Perth and Herdsman’s growing business precinct, along with its strong links to public transport, is another key factor in its popularity.
And with rents on the rise in the CBD, CB Richard Ellis investment properties manager Michael Milne said near-city locations such as Leederville were an increasingly attractive option for both developers and tenants.