Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Sentinel Property Group Executive Chairman Warren Ebert

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Katie Woolf spoke with Sentinel Property Group Executive Chairman Warren Ebert · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now you may have seen in the NT News over
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the weekend it was reported that a leading into state
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: property investment firm wants to invest more than two hundred
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  Speaker 1: million dollars in Darwin before Christmas. Now joining me on
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  Speaker 1: the line the Sentinel Property Group executive chairman Warren Ebers.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Warren.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and warrutful day in Darwin, no doubt,
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  Speaker 2: oh it is.
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  Speaker 1: It's always glorious in Darwin. And well is that why
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  Speaker 1: Sentinel is looking to invest two hundred million dollars into
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  Speaker 1: the territory.
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  Speaker 2: We've been very long in North Queens and the territory
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  Speaker 2: for a couple of years and we look to buy
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  Speaker 2: in places that have been out of favor, but we
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  Speaker 2: look for the upside. And we've had three significant buildings
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  Speaker 2: in Darwen now for a few years and we've been
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  Speaker 2: trying to buy some more assets. But we're up there
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  Speaker 2: last week for three days and I know residential vacancies
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  Speaker 2: have come down from I think nine percent to four percent.
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  Speaker 2: Speak of some agents that the market has really turned.
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  Speaker 2: And I think the COVID nineteen situation that has changed
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  Speaker 2: the way people live and operate, and we've seen a
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  Speaker 2: lot of people moving into Queensland and the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: because now the evidence is out that the virus lives
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  Speaker 2: much longer in cold climate and when you're over forty degrees,
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  Speaker 2: which I think is almost every day in Dallas, the
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  Speaker 2: virus doesn't live. So I think, if you love your
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  Speaker 2: family and you love your children, you've got to move
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think, and Warren, I know that anecdotally we've
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  Speaker 1: heard quite a bit about people moving to places in
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  Speaker 1: Northern Australia. I've just come back from Cans and I
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  Speaker 1: know that that's the sentiment that I've been hearing in
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  Speaker 1: North Queensland as well. I know that you guys are
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  Speaker 1: Brisbane based, but is that what is that what's sort
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  Speaker 1: of you know, being heard loudly and clearly throughout Queensland as.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Katie. While we're Brisbane based, we have about four
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  Speaker 2: hundred million dollars worth of property from Mackai North. We've
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  Speaker 2: got our fifteen properties in Mackay, We've got a couple
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  Speaker 2: of shopping centers at Emerald, We've got nine properties in Townsill.
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  Speaker 2: We owned the ferry termal at Early Beach. So if
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  Speaker 2: you go to Early Beach, go to Hamilton Island, Hayman Island,
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  Speaker 2: that's from our ferry terminal. We own the DFO in Keyns.
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  Speaker 2: We're properties up in that and table and so we're
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  Speaker 2: as we're very long in North Queensland. And where there
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  Speaker 2: was an article a couple of weeks ago the owner
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  Speaker 2: of the Hodgsbreck Cafe sold his property at Early Beach
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  Speaker 2: to a very wealthy Victorian and that fellow made a
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  Speaker 2: statement that all of his friends should move up to
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  Speaker 2: Early Beach. So I think we were starting to see
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  Speaker 2: it anyway, because house price in Melbourne had got so
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  Speaker 2: expensive over recent years and we're already starting to see
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  Speaker 2: that interstate migration. But I think this is really going
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  Speaker 2: to move it on. And you know, Darwin, I think
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  Speaker 2: and something that it's a massive defense spending that the
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  Speaker 2: federal's government's got, and I think it's making it easy
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  Speaker 2: for the federal government to spend money in part of
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  Speaker 2: Northern Australia and it'll be the food bowl of Asia.
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  Speaker 2: And is never one thing that makes something a successful failure.
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  Speaker 2: And I think there's a lot of these things that
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  Speaker 2: are all coming together from Darwin. You know, it's coming
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  Speaker 2: together before day, and it's had a pretty tough time, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: since the implex thing came off. But nothing ever goes
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  Speaker 2: in a straight line. You had massive growth there for
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  Speaker 2: a decade and it come off, but that happens everywhere.
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  Speaker 2: So I think it found a solid base and now
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  Speaker 2: it's ready for the next run. So there's that article
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  Speaker 2: the other day just on the massive investment in the
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  Speaker 2: biggest pawn farm in the world. You've got on shore
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  Speaker 2: gas that once they discovered, and then takes a while
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  Speaker 2: before that to build the processing. There's a lot of
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  Speaker 2: you know, there's a lot of things, and I just
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  Speaker 2: think that the Northern Territory has got a fantastic decade
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  Speaker 2: ahead of it.
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  Speaker 1: And Warren, you did mention that Sentinel already has a
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  Speaker 1: few properties in Darwin. Are you able to say which
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  Speaker 1: ones those are?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, certainly. We've got one hundred and ten million invested there.
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  Speaker 2: So we have cash coom beside in a shopping center.
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  Speaker 2: We own the Jacana House which has got the primester
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  Speaker 2: and cabinet and another other few other government Henderson there
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  Speaker 2: and we have an Amika in I think it's called
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  Speaker 2: Perap is it that's it?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, in Perrap Yeah, So.
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  Speaker 2: That's the three that we have at the moment. It's
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  Speaker 2: so worth about one hundred and ten million, and we're
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  Speaker 2: up there last week looking at a number of assets,
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  Speaker 2: but we don't you know, we're not after the smaller
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  Speaker 2: assets because you know, when you've got one point two
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  Speaker 2: billion and one hundred and one staff, you just can't
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  Speaker 2: justify the time in managing smaller acids. So we're looking
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  Speaker 2: in that twenty million up to a couple hundred million.
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  Speaker 2: So we would like to spend more than a couple
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  Speaker 2: hundred million if we can. And we're probably not going
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  Speaker 2: to get that done before Christmas because it takes time.
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  Speaker 2: But over the next twelve months we'll be up there
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  Speaker 2: a lot more often and aggressively trying to buy.
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  Speaker 1: And I suppose you know, there'll be people listening right
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  Speaker 1: now who are Territorians thinking, oh goodness me, we've got
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  Speaker 1: this Queenslander and this Queensland group wanting to come and
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  Speaker 1: buy up in the territory. You know, do you just
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  Speaker 1: buy property and sit on it or do you actually
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  Speaker 1: then invest in it and you know, sort of improve it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we've just spent four million at Cascom, which I
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  Speaker 2: think is is a fair bit, but that was also
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  Speaker 2: in conjunction with the territory government where they know they
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  Speaker 2: had that program to spend and improve assets. So we
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  Speaker 2: normally don't buy bring new properties because we buy properties
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  Speaker 2: that have got some problems and now we're and now
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  Speaker 2: whether that's short term leases or the property needs some
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  Speaker 2: tender love and care, because we look to add value.
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  Speaker 2: So we're not a buyer what you would call passive assets.
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  Speaker 2: We buy properties where we can add value.
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  Speaker 1: There you go and is there much that you're looking
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  Speaker 1: at in the territory at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: We had we inspected three large assets yesterday, sorry last
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  Speaker 2: week when we were there. But you know, we're always
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  Speaker 2: a value by you know, we're not you know, I
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  Speaker 2: think some people in dar and they love doing that much.
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  Speaker 2: They think it's Sydney CBD and they priced them accordingly.
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  Speaker 2: But I think eventually they'll come to reality. And I
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  Speaker 2: don't want to be harsh, but you know with this COVID,
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  Speaker 2: whenever you get a difficult period, most people retreat to home.
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  Speaker 2: You know, they want to invest close to home. So
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  Speaker 2: that in Australia, you know, we know from Brisbane that
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  Speaker 2: the decisions are made in Sydney and interest rates in
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  Speaker 2: Australia dictator by house price in Sydney, that's what drives it.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, we love the northern regions, but for
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  Speaker 2: people to put their put their money there, they need
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  Speaker 2: to get a high return on investments in well, whether
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  Speaker 2: it's in kens Or Mackay or Darwin, then what they
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  Speaker 2: do in Sydney in Melbourne. So we just see value
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  Speaker 2: there and it needs to be priced accordingly that the
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  Speaker 2: big boys aren't buying. I would think that we're probably
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  Speaker 2: the biggest owner, been the biggest fire of property north
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  Speaker 2: north of the Tropic of Capricorn over the last decade.
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  Speaker 2: Well there you go.
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  Speaker 1: I tell you what I think. It's really interesting and
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  Speaker 1: I'm really quite fascinated by the discussion that we've been
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  Speaker 1: having more broadly here in the territory, and I know
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  Speaker 1: that they are having in North Queensland as well, about
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  Speaker 1: people retreating to Northern Australia. I can't speak highly enough
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  Speaker 1: of living in Northern Australia. I think it's the best
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  Speaker 1: thing to do, the smartest thing to do. And COVID
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  Speaker 1: didn't need to tell us territorians that. But but yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it's good, you know, good to hear from you this morning,
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  Speaker 1: and good to hear exactly what Sentinel Property Growth looking
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  Speaker 1: at doing.
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  Speaker 2: Yep, tell everyone down south, if you love your family,
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  Speaker 2: you're going to move to Darwin.
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  Speaker 1: Well that's what I reckon.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, good on you, Yeah, I.
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  Speaker 1: Will, good on you. Warren, thanks for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Thanks Katie, thank you.
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  Speaker 1: That is a Sentinel Property Group executive chairman there, Warren
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  Speaker 1: Ebersh And yeah, I reckon. It's like I say, I'm
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  Speaker 1: quite fascinated to see whether we do end up with
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  Speaker 1: more people moving to the Northern Territory, moving to parts
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  Speaker 1: of Northern Australia following on from the coronavirus. And we're
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  Speaker 1: certainly hearing that anecdotally, but whether that is indeed the case,
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  Speaker 1: only time will tell, and I do think it's worth
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  Speaker 1: noting as well. I know that there has been some
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  Speaker 1: discussion that heat obviously has an impact on COVID, but
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  Speaker 1: I've not seen hard evidence to show that that is
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  Speaker 1: absolutely the case, so I think that that is definitely
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  Speaker 1: worth noting. Following on from those comments by Warren, but look,
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  Speaker 1: it sounds like there's certainly Queenslanders that are keen to
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  Speaker 1: invest in the territory