NSW’s retail sector has posted its second strongest year of investment in a decade, with $4.36 billion in shopping centre transactions and yields compressed to their tightest range in ten years. Our Issue 1 NSW Retail Report breaks down the full picture across all four retail formats: shopping centres, large format retail, quick service restaurants and retail strips.

Large format retail rents are up 24.3% over three years to $690/sqm, even as transaction volumes remain constrained by how tightly these assets are held. QSR yields have tightened to as low as 3.20% on the back of rising tenant demand, while retail strips, the highest risk and most management intensive format, are seeing renewed private buyer interest as negative gearing changes redirect capital toward commercial alternatives.

With Western Sydney’s population growing at more than double the state’s overall rate and new retail supply struggling to keep pace, the report sets out what this means for investors, developers and owner-occupiers across every corner of the sector.