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Speaker 1: Now you may have seen in the NT News over

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Speaker 1: the weekend it was reported that a leading into state

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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