Caringbah Shopping Village has been sold for the first time in 28 years. Picture by Murray Trembath

The new owner of Caringbah Shopping Village intends to focus on retail, rather than redevelopment with apartments, the sales agent says.

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The neighbourhood centre anchored by a Woolworths supermarket, which in 2025 was the company's eleventh best performer nationally, has been sold for the first time in 28 years.

The sales price was not disclosed, but was reported by trade media to be $71.5 million.

The neighbourhood centre anchored by a Woolworths supermarket, which in 2025 was the company's eleventh best performer nationally. Picture by Murray Trembath

When the property was listed by Stonebridge Property Group in late 2025, national partner Philip Gartland said the site had substantial development potential.

"The best precedent is what is happening across the road [the Coles site redevelopment with 242 apartments]," he said.

However, in a statement on the recent sale, Stonebridge said the sale "underscored a decisive shift in investor strategy across Sydney's metropolitan retail market".

"The successful purchaser intends to reposition the major tenant lease, reflecting conviction in the centre's long term income durability and growth potential," Mr Gartland said.

"While the campaign also generated material interest from mixed use developers, the ultimate pricing benchmark was set by a traditional expert retail investment group focused on maximising rental income and asset performance rather than pursuing redevelopment outcomes.

"With construction costs at record highs and land values continuing to rise - particularly across Sydney's inner and middle ring suburbs - investors are far more focused on repositioning and enhancing existing assets rather than attempting to develop."

Stonebridge national partner Lincoln Blackledge said inquiries regarding mixed use (retail-residential) sites remained a consistent feature of Sydney retail campaigns, largely driven by planning reform and state government initiatives aimed at unlocking housing supply.

"We continue to see strong inquiry from mixed use developers, particularly across Sydney, where government policy is actively encouraging higher density outcomes," he said.

Caringbah Shopping Village. Picture by Murray Trembath

"In this instance, however, the strongest bid came from an investor who saw greater value in enhancing the existing retail income rather than redeveloping the site, highlighting the depth of confidence in prime neighbourhood shopping centres."

Stonebridge said the centre "attracted strong, competitive interest from a diverse buyer pool, with pricing driven by investors targeting high quality centres offering future income upside, even where a short WALE [weighted average lease expiry] remains to the major tenant".