Food bites into vacancy rates

The West Australian – Wednesday 28 October 2026

Perth’s best high streets are on top of the world, recording vacancy rates of only 3.6 per cent, the lowest in an ongoing decade-long study.

This record-breaking figure represents less than a third of the 12.1 per cent vacancy peak recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Report co-author Brett Wilkins said conditions had never been this good in his 10-year study of Cottesloe, Leederville, Mt Lawley-Highgate, Mt Hawthorn, Victoria Park and East Victoria Park, Claremont, Subiaco and Fremantle.

”With seven of the eight tracked strips showing year-on-year improvements, this is unambiguously the strongest, most stable retail environment we have documented in a decade,” he said. The change was due in part to a shift away from traditional soft goods towards experiential and hospitality-driven models, with cafes and restaurants cementing their role as the modern strip anchor, accounting for 30.4 per cent of the floor area. “Food is no longer just a secondary amenity; it is the primary economic driver drawing foot traffic to these strips,” Mr Nel said. “Cafes and restaurants now command the single largest share of floor area in three of our eight tracked locations, peaking on Albany Highway, where hospitality uses dominate nearly half of the entire strip. “Landlords are adapting to what consumers want: dining, social experiences and localised services.”

The 10th edition of the annual retail report shows Leederville’s Oxford Street and Cottesloe’s Napolean Street have led the way, recording no vacancies for the first time since research records started. The research in August and September — also coauthored by RWC capital transactions analyst Struan Nel — tracked 715 storefronts, including 97,694sqm of net lettable area on the premier suburban shopping strips.

A mere 3181sqm of retail space sat vacant across the entire metropolitan network, down significantly from the 5.76 per cent vacancy rate recorded across the same precincts in 2025. The original five baseline strips of Claremont, Cottesloe, Subiaco, Leederville, and Mt LawleyHighgate sat at a 6.94 per cent vacancy rate in 2017 but have this year plummeted to an ultra-tight collective vacancy low of 2.77 per cent. Napoleon Street in Cottesloe and Oxford Street in Leederville both achieved a zero vacancy rate, with no empty shopfronts on survey day. South Terrace in Fremantle staged the most dramatic turnaround, with vacancy on the strip going from 20.1 per cent in 2025 down to 7.38 per cent in 2026, excluding space under development. Rokeby Road in Subiaco also rebounded, with vacancy dropping from 8.78 per cent last year to 4.99 per cent.

Scarborough Beach Road in Mt Hawthorn was the only precinct to suffer an increase in vacancy, rising from a historical low of 0.83 per cent to 3.70 per cent — or three empty shops. The research identified 99 storefronts operating as new traders, including 26 on Beaufort Street.

https://rwcwaportfolio.com/portfolio-reports/perth-retail-strips-report-10th-edition