Perth “foodie” streets are propping up the property sector by outperforming all other trade markets in WA, according to new research.
Ray White Commercial property adviser Brett Wilkins and head of research Vanessa Rader analysed the sales, leasing and occupancy usage of every ground-floor property in Perth’s five main retail strips.
The report — Between the Lines, Perth’s High Street Retail Strips — revealed the retail property market was performing well, despite the economic downturn.
“During this time of low interest rates there are many investors, most notably on the east coast, looking for a secure property holding with sound returns, which has impacted yields downward,” Mr Wilkins said.
Oxford Street in Leederville stood out as the best performer, with 46 shops on the strip fully occupied.
Beaufort Street in Mt Lawley and Highgate had the highest volume of vacancies with more than 1500sqm of unleased stock, or 9.01 per cent of its net lettable area.
Bay View Terrace in Claremont followed closely with 922sqm of vacant space, or 10.16 per cent.
Some restaurants say mobile food vans are taking their customers.
Mr Wilkins said it was important to factor in the relative size of these cafe strips, with Beaufort Street the longest in the study.
Napoleon Street took up the least distance in the study, followed by Bay View Terrace, Oxford Street and Rokeby Road.
Subiaco’s Rokeby Road only featured nine vacancies, or 5.94 per cent of its net lettable area, and Cottesloe’s Napoleon Street had a 6.81 per cent vacancy rate.
Mr Wilkins said he was positive about the future of Rokeby Road, despite the area experiencing a rough few years.
“There is healthy demand for properties in those retail strips — most of them have come through a couple of hard years but they’re looking a lot better than they have in recent times,” he said.
“Whilst there are some vacancies in these areas, it is a lot healthier than it’s been.”
The Scarborough beachfront venue called in administrators on Friday.
He said Perth’s retail market was likely to see modest growth in the near future as the local economy and population picked up.
Recent sales in the past six months, including 10-12 Bay View Terrace for $4.8 million and 36 Napoleon Street for $2.06 million, highlighted the positivity in the market.
“The only thing holding back further sales is the lack of offerings by vendors,” Mr Wilkins said.
For example, the Napoleon Street property was the second that has sold independently on that strip for 13 years.
“Even Bay View Terrace, with a vacancy of 10 per cent, is in far better condition than in recent years,” he said.
