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A small retail shop on the fringe of the Melbourne CBD has sold for $630,000. 
Located at 759 Bourke Street, the 57 square metre Docklands shop was sold on a net yield of 5.7%. 
It is leased to hair salon Blow Dry Bar, returning $41,600 plus GST.  
Fitzroys selling agent Andrew Hewett said astute investors were now considering Docklands again following the huge increase in population from rapid development over the past 12 years.
“There is no doubt now that Docklands has cemented itself as a large business precinct, connected to the CBD and boasting a number of attractions,” he said.
The Bourke Street shop is located between the two NAB office towers in Docklands and opposite the new purpose-built Medibank Private development.
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Docklands retail shop sells for $630,000

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Some of the country's biggest property groups are on the hunt for industrial property, with the Perth market high on the radar.
According to Colliers International some $1 billion in funds is ready to be invested in prime investment stock and land for pre-lease Australia-wide.
Property groups Lend Lease, Charter Hall, and Goodman were all on the hunt for assets, said Colliers International director of industrial property Wayne Chorley and that high on their list were Western Australia assets.
"While those big institutional buyers have probably been more east coast-focused in the past, such is the current demand and the thirst for industrial assets they’re turning their eyes nationally, and broadening the net, " he said.
The state's strong population growth - the highest in the country - and low unemployment rate, combined with steady rent and capital values have been a major attraction for those institutional investors in the WA market, said Mr Chorley.
Since June last year, the Perth market has seen major deals totalling more than $210 million bedded down, including Goodman’s purchase of a $22 million Canning Vale property tenanted by Mayne Logistics, and Charter Hall’s $61.5 million acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in another Canning Vale asset tenanted by Foodland Associated.
“The first choice asset profile being sought is modern, well-leased A Grade industrial property in prime locations – so in the Perth market that means the likes of Canning Vale, Welshpool and Wangara," said Mr Chorely.
As a result of the level of transactional activity, he said "we’ve seen at that top end of the market over the past 12 to 18 months, stock is tight – and that means yields must tighten.”
He noted on the backdrop of the slowing of the resources sector and shelving of oil and gas projects.
He said the effect these had on WA’s property market had received widespread airplay in recent months.
"The industrial market was less exposed to any downturn in that sector than other commercial property classes," he said.
He said the resources sector was not a major influence in the industrial real estate market but residential constincluding was because of the "multiplier effect" it created - meaning the lift in demand for construction materials.
Private house approvals in WA currently remain  above the ten-year average.
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Canning Vale, Welshpool and Wangara - the first choice for modern, well-leased A Grade industrial property 

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Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre has secured two new tenants and re-signed a further 10 national operators as part of an overhaul of the centre’s retail mix.
The two new tenants were Snap Fitness, which signed a 321 square metre lease and Bank of Melbourne, which took 212 square metres in the centre.
Both leases were negotiated by Colliers International leasing agent, Mike Crittenden.
In the past six months, Wespac, Commonwealth Bank,  Priceline, Millers, Sussan, EB Games, Suzanne Grae, Tenderfresh Meats, Flight Centre and ANZ have all renewed there leases in the centre.
Recent rentals achieved have ranged from $750-$1,800 per square metre, said Mr Crittenden.
“Our focus has been on renewing quality tenants as well as improving the centre by securing additional offerings not previously represented in the centre,” he said.
Located 30km south-east of the Melbourne CBD, the Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre, comprises a variety of retail spaces, totaling about 36,000 square metres. Among the 86 retailers in the centre are Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Dan Murphy and a Big W.
“We are still on the look-out for more high-quality retail, fresh food, fast food and service-based operators to complement the existing strong tenancy mix for the remaining tenancies," said Mr Crittenden.</body></html>

Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre overhaul continues, securing two new tenants

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A convenience-based retail and commercial centre in the inner Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba has been sold at auction for $3.85 million.
The property at 80-84 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, was sold by Ray White Commercial’s Mark Dann and John Dwyer under instructions from receiver and managers, Raj Khati and Morgan Lane of Worrells.
The buyer was a local investment group and the yield on the sale was 6.6%, on a passing net income.
The centre's net annual income is about $256,000 per year.
The convenience centre, anchored by Pizza Hut, NightOwl and Subway, attracted 23 registered bidders following 157 enquiries on the property from interstate as well as locally.
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Some 23 investors seek out Woolloongabba retail and commercial centre which sells for $3.85 million

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UK-based Brompton Asset Management has acquired the Industry House building in the Canberra CBD for  $151.7 million, in what is being billed as the biggest office transaction in the nation's capital city this year.
The 15-storey building, at 10 Binara Street, was owned by The Andrew Roberts-backed property funds management group CorVal and sold on a yield of 7.5 per cent. CorVal bought the A-grade building for $123 million in 2009.
The acquisition, negotiated by Jones Lang LaSalle agents Rob Sewell, Simon Storry and Greg Lyons, is the second purchase in Canberra market by Brompton. The asset manager also owns a nearby office building at 255 London Circuit.
"Sovereign wealth funds and global pension funds have re-rated real estate, placing a higher weighting on the defensive characteristics of the asset classes and increasing allocations to the sector," said Mr Sewell.
"The most passive of offshore capital is seeking modern assets, strong covenants, long lease terms ( with stipulated fixed increases) and increasingly the latest in sustainability credentials".
Jones Lang LaSalle research shows that Canberra is the youngest Australian CBD office market, with 40 per cent of assets aged less than 10 years. "The quality of income in Canberra is high, with 60 per cent of office space occupied by the AAA-rated Federal or ACT governments," Sewell said.
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Biggest office sale in Canberra this year at $151.7 million

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If ever there was a reason for property investors to be looking at the Sydney suburban office market for investment opportunities, it is now, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Based on its analysis of the nine key suburban office markets - Sydney Fringe, South Sydney, North Sydney, Chatswood, St Leonards, Parramatta, Macquarie Park, Norwest and Homebush/Rhodes - JLL found that the combined commercial footprint stood at 4.39 million square metres and the value was $19.5 billion, incorporating 190 A-grade assets.
<img height="224" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/08/chart-of-the-week-aug-21.jpg" alt="chart-of-the-week-aug-21">
Source: Jones Lang LaSalle
There was "significant depth" in Sydney's non-core office market, said JLL research analyst Leighton Waugh.
Specifically, he said there are four fundamental criteria that support the argument for investment in the non-CBD office markets - tenant demand and vacancy levels, rental growth, incentive levels and the yield spread between CBD and non-CBD markets.
"Tenant demand for suburban office space has been buoyant in the 12 months to June 2013, with gross take up totaling 140,700 square metres,'' he said.
And while prime net absorption was a modest 2,000 square metres over the same period, he made a point of saying that the Sydney CBD prime office market recorded negative net absorption of 20,700 square metres.
Of the nine suburban markets, JLL said demand was highest in Homebush/Rhodes, Macquarie Park and Parramatta ,which recorded positive net absorption of 47,300 square metres in the 12 months to June 30. North Sydney, Sydney Fringe and Sydney South reported negative net absorption of 81,400 sqm.
"The number of tenant briefs for space has increased in the majority of the suburban markets as prospective tenants look to take advantage of the modern amenities and lower gross effective rents," said Mr Waugh.
He said the average gross effective rent for the nine Sydney suburban office markets was $341 per square metres per annum.
"The lower gross effective rent for the suburban office markets compared to the Sydney CBD ($608 square metres per annum) makes the suburban market attractive for tenants despite the stronger rental growth (4.2%) against the Sydney CBD (-2.5%) year-on-year," he added.
The JLL research also showed that prime vacancy across the nine suburban markets sat  below the CBD vacancy level, at 9.2% and 11.3% respectively.
"Quality supply is scarce in the Sydney suburban office markets and little supply is forecast to come on stream in 2013 and 2014, which should see a tightening in the vacancy rate as was recorded in Parramatta, Macquarie Park and Homebush/Rhodes in Q2/2013," said Mr Waugh.
Sydney suburban upper yields ranged from 7.25% to 9.00% compared to 6.00% to 7.50% for the Sydney CBD, JLL said. It is forecasting yields to compress in the North Sydney and Parramatta markets in 2013 and 2014.
A number of institutional investors were preparing to raise capital for non-CBD office funds, said Mr Waugh, as those markets offered a combination of high yielding assets together with strong income streams.
"As a result, the demand for non-CBD product is likely to increase over the next 12-36 months, " he added.
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Significant depth in Sydney's non-core office market: Jones Lang LaSalle

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Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have maintained their ranking among the world's most expensive cities for global retailers, despite a backdrop of flat retail turnover figures and a weak domestic economic environment.
The three Australian cities all featured in CBRE Group's top 10 quarterly rankings, which was topped by Hong Kong with prime rents at US$4,328 per square feet per annum, followed by New York.
<img alt="record-retail-rents-charts" height="425" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/08/record-retail-rents-charts.jpg">
Prime rents in Sydney, which was fifth in the rankings, came in at US$945 per square feet. Prime rents in Melbourne were $794 per square feet and in Brisbane  were $599 per square feet, the CBRE research showed.
Josh Loudoun, CBRE senior director of Retail Services Australia, said the Australian cities combined were tracking at a "steady growth" rate, but that the results varied from city to city. Prime rents in Sydney, he said had fallen, whilst in Brisbane rents had accelerated strongly and Melbourne had experienced steady growth.
Nervertheless, he said the overall results  highlighted that Australia was showing steady growth at a time when the retail sector is in the doldrums.
Driving the local results , said Mr Loudoun, was the "limited number of new leases being signed as landlords have been more inclined to leave tenants on hold over or short term leases at the lease expiry, instead of putting the property to the market and crystallising a downgrade.”
However, he also said, Australia had continued to benefit from low vacancy rates and the limited new supply coming to the market, along with the influx of international retailers to our local shores.
US fashion label Brooks Brothers and UK retailer Marks &amp; Spencer have recently announced they will be entering the Australian market.
Another consideration he points to is the upcoming Federal election.
"History shows that retail sales following a federal election usually show a strong short-term spike as consumer confidence lifts and this will translate to rental growth over the next 12 months. This will also coincide with a number of the ‘boom time’ leases of 2008/2009 coming up for their five year anniversary," said Mr Loudoun.
CBRE said that the top 10 prime global retail markets saw little change relative to previous quarters, however, four of the top 10 markets - New York, London, Zurich and Tokyo - saw quarterly increases in prime retail rents, compared with only one market during the previous quarter.
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Australian cities among the most expensive for global retailers: CBRE

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A four-unit industrial complex on the central Gold Coast has sold for $1.55 million to Melbourne-based private investors.
The complex, at 686 Ashmore Road, Molendinar, was sold by Jim Burge, who developed the 2,300-square-metre industrial site in 2000. He purchased the site for $302,100 in 2000.
The sale was negotiated by Pat Cavanagh of Colliers International.
Mr Cavanagh said that the private investors purchased the property as an investment for their family super fund for the long-term.
On a fully leased basis, he said the unit complex would achieve a net yield of about 8.25%.
At the time of the purchase, the complex only had one vacant unit. It is now fully leased.
Mr Cavanagh said this latest industrial transaction showed "investors were prepared to pay the right money for quality investments when they became available".
He also pointed to a "significant" run of sales from occupiers and investors in the industrial market.
"Larger properties in particular are experiencing less time on the market and are going under contract with fewer settlement terms as more players enter the market and sentiment continues to improve," says Mr Cavanagh.
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Gold Coast four-unit industrial complex sells for $1.55 million

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Engineering company WorleyParsons is believed to have a leasing mandate out in the Perth CBD market for a requirement for up to 20,000 square metres of office space.
Industry sources told Property Observer that they believe the company had narrowed its leasing options to two sites - the Kings Square precinct, which is part of the $5.2 billion Perth City Link project initiated by the State Government. The other location is the nearby $130 million 396 Murray St site.
WorsleyParsons currently has its staff spread throughout several building in the Perth CBD, including the QV1 tower, 600 Murray,  Adelaide Terrace and 235 St Georges Terrace. 
WorleyParsons today released a statment saying that "it is a matter of public record that WorleyParsons  is seeking to consolidate its office space in Perth. A range of options are being considered and the company has not yet settled on a preferred option".
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Katherine Jimenez

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