Investment News

Industrial real estate has been a strong contender for the best performing commercial asset class over the past year and particularly so over the last six months.

Lending for boutique residential properties in some of Melbourne’s and Sydney’s most sought-after suburbs has proved a recipe for success for non-bank lender Pallas Capital.

The pandemic-propelled demand for cold storage facilities has seen it become a valuable, yet scarce, commodity. A run of recent sales reveals the strength of the cold storage and food distribution property sector as an asset class.

A Bendigo building tenanted by Australia Post, sold for $6.375 million this week in a competitive auction that saw a Melbourne investor win-out against a local bidder. Recent commercial sales in the City of Bendigo have reflected the interest of interstate investors in Victoria’s fourth largest city.

An Officeworks in Albury and a Melbourne childcare centre both sold for more than $10 million as investors chased regional commercial assets and early learning properties in portfolio auction sales. Burgess Rawson sold 37 of the 38 commercial properties on offer at its portfolio auctions this week for a combined $131 million.

The federal budget’s focus on jobs growth, business tax relief and infrastructure investment is expected to have knock-on benefits for commercial property, as consumer sentiment, investment and spending power rise.

While residential housing was a key focus of the budget, less was explicitly mentioned about commercial property. However, as the places where Australians do business, many of the announcements in the 2021-22 budget will impact the commercial property sector, both directly and indirectly.

From water parks, go-karts and laser tag, to bowling, game arcades and trampoline parks, leisure facilities in the right location can pay dividends for owners with vision.

Local investment powerhouse QIC has sold two major retail centres for a combined $163m in recent days amid a hot market for home improvement centres.