E-Commerce Growth Drives Queensland Logistics Investment

Industrial and logistics property has remained one of the few corners of the commercial real estate market to ride through the disruption of the pandemic relatively untouched.

Demand for logistics space, particularly in Brisbane, has been underpinned by several structural demand drivers, including a fast -growing e-commerce sector and resilient domestic consumption.

In Queensland, e-commerce logistics distribution and warehousing has shown strong growth of 5.2 per cent annually, the highest of any state nationally.

Last week, Singaporean property fund manager Mapletree finalised the purchase of 36 hectares of industrial land on Brisbane’s outskirts in a deal worth $90.7 million.

The site, which was sold by Brisbane-based developer Pointcorp, will now form part of the proposed $1.5 billion, 157-hectare Crestmead Logistics Estate, located on the corner of Green and Clarke Road south of the Logan Motorway corridor in Brisbane.

The site for the nine-stage estate, which is mooted to deliver 650,000sq m of warehousing, business, logistics and manufacturing buildings, was amalgamated over a five-year period by Pointcorp.

According to a recent report by Colliers International, Brisbane’s industrial sale and leaseback transactions have continued to strengthen throughout the pandemic, reaching $272 million between January and September 2020.

“Industrial assets in the Greater Brisbane region have consolidated as a defensive and mainstream investment during the pandemic,” Colliers International associate director of research Karina Salas said.

“Over the past 10 years to December 2019, industrial sales volumes comprised an average of 21 per cent of the volume of commercial property sales within the region.

“Over the past three quarters to September 2020, this contribution has increased to 63 per cent, driven by its appeal as a defensive asset class during the pandemic.”

Last month, Mapletree secured 55,000sq m of space at the Acacia Ridge distribution centre on Bradman Street, which was sold on a sharp 5 per cent yield by Blackstone for $114 million.

The Acacia Ridge Business Park lies within an established industrial precinct, about 13 kilometres south of the Brisbane CBD, and was previously known as the Fox Road Industrial Estate.Source: The Urban Developer