Invest
Aussie investors late to commercial property race but gaining ground
Off-shore investors may have seen and reaped the benefits of industrial estate investment, but Aussie retail investors are also starting to smell the coffee.
Aussie investors late to commercial property race but gaining ground
Off-shore investors may have seen and reaped the benefits of industrial estate investment, but Aussie retail investors are also starting to smell the coffee.
The head of direct property at Charter Hall, Steven Bennett, told Nest Egg that commercial property has historically been popular with large institutional investors like offshore pension funds, superannuation funds and future funds.
Investing in industrial real estate however is a growing “boom area” and it’s one offshore investors have picked up on first. However, Aussie investors are catching up.
“Offshore investors have probably picked up on this trend a little bit quicker than some of the Australian investors, and that's because they're further down the field of e-commerce,” Mr Bennett explained.
“When you think about e-commerce, well, what do you need? Maybe less bricks and mortar, but you need more warehousing. You need more depots to ship the goods.”
He said this is the beginning of a long-term trend in Australia, which is already experiencing high levels of demand in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for industrial assets.
“But that trend will happen across Australia,” Mr Bennett added.
Speaking about commercial property more broadly, he noted that Australian investors haven’t traditionally shown much interest in the space. However, that is also changing due to the appeal of higher income.
Mr Bennett explained, “You have to consider the income. If you're pulling out 3 per cent income on a residential property after all your costs to maintain it, your agent's fees, it's probably not a bad result in a market like Sydney, for example.
“Commercial property, after all costs for a very high quality asset, whether it's in office or industrial, should give you 6-7 per cent, and that's very attractive.”
However, he urged investors to remember that the landscapes are different.
“Commercial property is a good way to get some of the benefits of property exposure, but not have it so correlated to what's happening in the residential market because commercial property does not move in the same way that the residential markets do,” Mr Bennett said.
RELATED ARTICLES
Property
New investment platform Arkus allows Australians to invest in property for just $1
In a groundbreaking move to democratise investment in property-backed mortgage funds, GPS Investment Fund Limited has launched Arkus™, a retail investment platform designed to make investing ...Read more
Property
Help to Buy goes live: What 40,000 new buyers mean for banks, builders and the bottom line
Australia’s Help to Buy has opened, lowering the deposit hurdle to 2 per cent and aiming to support up to 40,000 households over four years. That single policy lever will reverberate through mortgage ...Read more
Property
Australia’s mortgage knife‑fight: investors, first‑home buyers and the new rules of lender competition
The mortgage market is staying hot even as rate relief remains elusive, with investors and first‑home buyers chasing scarce stock and lenders fighting for share on price, speed and digital experienceRead more
Property
Breaking Australia’s three‑property ceiling: the finance‑first playbook for scalable portfolios
Most Australian investors don’t stall at three properties because they run out of ambition — they run out of borrowing capacity. The ceiling is a finance constraint disguised as an asset problem. The ...Read more
Property
Gen Z's secret weapon: Why their homebuying spree could flip Australia's housing market
A surprising share of younger Australians are preparing to buy despite affordability headwinds. One in three Gen Z Australians intend to purchase within a few years and 32 per cent say escaping rent ...Read more
Property
Tasmania’s pet-positive pivot: What landlords, BTR operators and insurers need to do now
Tasmania will soon require landlords to allow pets unless they can prove a valid reason to refuse. This is more than a tenancy tweak; it is a structural signal that the balance of power in rental ...Read more
Property
NSW underquoting crackdown: the compliance reset creating both cost and competitive edge
NSW is moving to sharply increase penalties for misleading price guides, including fines linked to agent commissions and maximum penalties up to $110,000. Behind the headlines sits a more ...Read more
Property
ANZ’s mortgage growth, profit slump: why volume without margin won’t pay the dividends
ANZ lifted home-lending volumes, yet profits fell under the weight of regulatory and restructuring costs—an object lesson in the futility of growth that doesn’t convert to margin and productivityRead more
Property
New investment platform Arkus allows Australians to invest in property for just $1
In a groundbreaking move to democratise investment in property-backed mortgage funds, GPS Investment Fund Limited has launched Arkus™, a retail investment platform designed to make investing ...Read more
Property
Help to Buy goes live: What 40,000 new buyers mean for banks, builders and the bottom line
Australia’s Help to Buy has opened, lowering the deposit hurdle to 2 per cent and aiming to support up to 40,000 households over four years. That single policy lever will reverberate through mortgage ...Read more
Property
Australia’s mortgage knife‑fight: investors, first‑home buyers and the new rules of lender competition
The mortgage market is staying hot even as rate relief remains elusive, with investors and first‑home buyers chasing scarce stock and lenders fighting for share on price, speed and digital experienceRead more
Property
Breaking Australia’s three‑property ceiling: the finance‑first playbook for scalable portfolios
Most Australian investors don’t stall at three properties because they run out of ambition — they run out of borrowing capacity. The ceiling is a finance constraint disguised as an asset problem. The ...Read more
Property
Gen Z's secret weapon: Why their homebuying spree could flip Australia's housing market
A surprising share of younger Australians are preparing to buy despite affordability headwinds. One in three Gen Z Australians intend to purchase within a few years and 32 per cent say escaping rent ...Read more
Property
Tasmania’s pet-positive pivot: What landlords, BTR operators and insurers need to do now
Tasmania will soon require landlords to allow pets unless they can prove a valid reason to refuse. This is more than a tenancy tweak; it is a structural signal that the balance of power in rental ...Read more
Property
NSW underquoting crackdown: the compliance reset creating both cost and competitive edge
NSW is moving to sharply increase penalties for misleading price guides, including fines linked to agent commissions and maximum penalties up to $110,000. Behind the headlines sits a more ...Read more
Property
ANZ’s mortgage growth, profit slump: why volume without margin won’t pay the dividends
ANZ lifted home-lending volumes, yet profits fell under the weight of regulatory and restructuring costs—an object lesson in the futility of growth that doesn’t convert to margin and productivityRead more
