Noosa Heads retail complex fetches $6.8m

A landmark retail complex in the tourist mecca of Noosa Heads has sold to a Melbourne-based investor for $6.8 million – two weeks after it failed to sell at auction.

The Oasis Centre, a 1518sqm allotment at 16 Sunshine Beach Road in Noosa Junction, went to auction on March 15, expecting to fetch more than $5.5 million, but didn’t sell on the day.

But selling agent CBRE last week confirmed that Melbourne-based Martonsan Holdings – controlled by barrister Tony Kiel and Sandra Rush, the wife of former Supreme Court judge, Jack Rush QC – reached terms with an as-yet-undisclosed buyer on Thursday, March 28.

Martonsan last year sold Adairs on Bridge Road in Richmond to a Chinese investor for $14.81 million, well above the $11.6 million reserve.

The shopping centre has 10 stable tenancies and boasts 50m of street frontage on Noosa Junction’s main thoroughfare. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Rorey James, the head of CBRE’s strip retail investment team in Victoria, who handled the sale, says the price translates to a yield of 5.2 per cent and a building rate of almost $9,000 per square metre, providing “strong indicators of the current demand for assets” in the Sunshine Coast and Noosa markets.

“With more than $50 million of active capital now looking to acquire commercial properties in the Noosa region, we are seeing strong signs that investors are confident about the direction in which this market is heading,” James says.

The “business centre”-zoned development, which includes two two-level buildings with a total floor area of 782sqm, has 50 metres of frontage on popular Sunshine Beach Road, the main thoroughfare of Noosa Junction. It is close to the busy Noosa Fair Shopping Centre, which has a Coles supermarket.

The complex has 10 stable tenancies across three office and seven retail spaces, including well-known businesses Mermaids Swimwear, Black Pepper Café and Village Bicycle. With a high pedestrian flow, as well as heavy vehicle traffic, it currently generates an annual income of $358,000.

The shopping centre was bought by a Melbourne-based investor. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

CBRE says the campaign generated strong interest, given the property’s location in one of Australia’s renowned tourist destinations. It attracted more than 100 enquiries from domestic and international investors.

Would-be buyers identified the chance to add value through potential rent increases and better management, James says.