Despite the consistent doom and gloom commentary regarding the retail landscape, much of the negative bias needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

At the coalface, the demand for quality retail investment property is as strong as we can recall, as the fundamentals in most cases remain strong – land-rich assets and quality, reliable tenants with long, secure leases.

Every retail asset needs to be assessed on a case by case basis.

The retail investment market covers many subsects and is therefore much too broad to paint with the same brush.

The demand for certain retail assets continues to be strong, which we do not see abating any time soon.

We need to delve a little deeper to understand what works and what doesn’t – while some retail assets might be struggling due to overexposure to fashion and discount department stores, there are others that provide quality tenant mixes in ideal locations with non-discretionary offerings, and those that tick these boxes continue to be sought after and considered as secure retail investment opportunities.

The investment fundamentals of well-located sites with strong underlying land values and underpinned by top-20 ASX-listed covenants on long leases can not be overlooked.

Investors are seeing huge opportunities in the current retail market, given the yield spread compared to other asset classes, and the attractive income returns available for quality retail assets.

The difference between prime commercial and industrial yields and quality retail yields is simply too great to ignore.

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