Brisbane’s South-West Corridor Leads Industrial Land Supply.
14 September 2016
Brisbane's south-west corridor is expected to lead the way in industrial land sales in 2017, with the region boasting the highest number of current and future industrial land developments in South East Queensland, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.
The report shows the south-west corridor – centred around Rochedale, Redbank, Wacol and Heathwood – has 13 planned and active industrial estates comprising a total 300 hectares of industrial land, ahead of Brisbane Central and Trade Coast (9 projects), Moreton Bay (7 projects) and northern Gold Coast (5 projects).
Cushman and Wakefield Director for Industrial Corey Bott says Brisbane’s south-west region has accounted for approximately 40 percent of land take up in the greater Brisbane region since 2008, and he expects this trend to continue as developer activity increases and business confidence improves.
“Developers are becoming much more proactive in producing industrial land because they see the demand is there to keep pace with the introduction of new land supply. The take-up rate is improving, which creates a cycle of business confidence that will set the tone heading into 2017,” he said.
“During the 2015/2016 financial year we saw strong sales activity from both investors and owner occupiers, however, the limited supply of existing buildings means end user demand for land will continue to intensify over the coming years.
“Owner occupier sales have also been accelerated by record low cash rates and a growing sense of urgency despite increased land supply, as buyers recognise stock is being absorbed quickly.”
Jones Lang LaSalle Director for Industrial Gary Hyland says current and future land supply is even further limited for purchasers looking for small to medium lots under one hectare.
“The trend in recent years has been towards larger industrial lots with limited opportunity to subdivide or amalgamate to suit business requirements. Over the past year this has started to change with the introduction of Brisbane’s new western business district – Metroplex Westgate in Wacol, which has sites ranging from about 3,000sqm to 25,000sqm,” he said.
Mr Hyland says the south-west corridor is outpacing other regions in land supply and sales due to its access to South East Queensland’s three motorways.
“The south-west region is best placed in terms of connectivity to the Logan Motorway and Ipswich and Centenary Highways, so it is favoured by manufacturing and logistics groups that need fast rail, port and airport access,” he said.