It was also a big year for regional retail assets with four key transactions amounting to more than $3.7 billion.
Victoria recorded the biggest CBD retail sector sale in 13 years with the $270-million sale of a two-thirds interest in Myer Melbourne. Abacus Property Group and Charter Hall Long WALE REIT each acquired a one-third interest, and Vicinity Centres retained the remaining 33 per cent share.
The $538.2-million, 50-per-cent share in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, The Strand Arcade and The Galleries, capped off a big year for Hong Kong’s Link REIT and their Australian investment manager EG Funds.
The Pac and Mac deal, and the sale of Woongong Central and Warringah Mall in the last quarter of 2021, was a signal of the strength of investor sentiment in Australia’s retail market. The assets sold for a combined $3.77 billion, an all-time high for the regional sub-sector.
And in more good news for the retail sector, trade has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels for many retailers.
Commsec chief economist Craig James said retail trade data supported the trend towards experience-based retail.
Commsec data showed spending at cafes and restaurants had rebounded 24.3 per cent in 2021, after dropping 25.4 per cent in 2020.
But James warned that the data continued to reflect the cycles of lockdowns and lifting of restrictions, and it would be hard to “get a true picture on consumer spending”.
“But looking over the entire 2021 year, retail trade rose by a healthy 5.6 per cent with volumes up by 3.5 per cent,” he said.
Article Source: www.theurbandeveloper.com