A note from our National Head of Industrial Logistics
In this edition
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04 Thought Leadership 10 New South Wales 26 Queensland 38 Victoria 54 South Australia 60 Western Australia 82 National Offices 74 Australian Capital Territory 76 Northern Territory 80 Meet The Team
As we near the end of 2025, we are pleased to bring you the latest edition of Knight Frank’s flagship publication, SPACE, that offers the most up-to-date and topical insights on Australia’s industrial property market for landlords and occupiers. This edition includes a key research update Page 6 from Knight Frank Director, Research & Consulting Marco Mascitelli. Marco provides expert observations into how the East Coast industrial market is finding its balance this year, and considers speculative completions, construction activity, rental growth and incentives. He writes that following a rapid rise in vacancy over the last 18 months across the East coast industrial market, vacancy levels held steady through the first half of 2025, sitting at 2.35 million square metres in Q2 — virtually unchanged from the previous quarter. This equates to a blended vacancy rate of 3.2%, with Sydney remaining tight at just 2.2%, Melbourne at 3.1%, and Brisbane higher at 5.1%. Within each market, however, performance varies considerably, particularly in precincts that have experienced a surge of new construction. We have also put the spotlight on the industrial market in the regional city of Newcastle in New South Wales. Knight Frank Partner, Industrial Agency in Newcastle Dan Barry shares insights into the outlook for the Hunter region Page 24, which, he argues, is emerging as one of Australia’s most compelling industrial hubs. Nationally, the industrial and logistics sector continues to outperform other asset classes, underpinned by e-commerce, supply chain resilience, and nearshoring strategies. Locally, Newcastle offers a unique blend of affordability, connectivity to the north and south, and future-facing industries that are bringing it to light. Meanwhile, Knight Frank Partner, Industrial Investments Angus Klem outlines how geopolitics is rewiring supply chains and industrial real estate Page 4. As global trade becomes increasingly politicised, tariff policies and geopolitical tensions are reshaping the way goods move, the structure of supply chains and the demand for industrial real estate. Australia, with its geopolitical stability, energy resources and proximity to Asia, is emerging as a key beneficiary of this evolving landscape.
This edition of SPACE also features a Q&A with Richard Trumbull, Knight Frank’s recently appointed Partner, Tenant Representation – Industrial, a newly created role and offering for our firm. Richard, who has more than 20 years’ experience in property, and 15 in the industrial sector, will be growing Knight Frank’s industrial tenant representation offering nationally. This includes providing expert advisory services to industrial occupiers across a range of lease-related matters, including procuring new purpose-built facilities, negotiating new leases, negotiating lease extensions and putting in place early exit strategies. It also includes introducing clients to the broader range of services Knight Frank provides to support occupiers, including portfolio management, project management, development management and property management. In his Q&A Page 8 Richard discusses topics such as critical dates for occupiers, the importance of lead time for good outcomes in negotiations and how occupiers can improve visibility across their lease portfolio. Knight Frank Partner, Head of Asset Management Services (AMS), Victoria Ben Veale also details how Knight Frank’s AMS team is playing a pivotal role in preparing the Somerton Business Park for the operational milestone set to be achieved by the Somerton Intermodal Terminal (SIT) this month. Somerton Business Park, a land holding of approximately 99 hectares, situated 20 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, will be the home of the SIT – the largest intermodal in Australia with an initial capacity of one million, Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers. 2025 has been marked by a stabilization in the industrial property market, and we expect the market to remain this way going into 2026, with some precincts continuing to perform more strongly than others. There is still time for transactional activity in terms of acquisitions, sales and leasing before we see the end of 2025, and as such SPACE showcases a range of current opportunities right around Australia. If you are interested in any of our industrial opportunities, or would like to discuss the industrial market in your local area, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our relevant experts. We hope you enjoy our latest edition of SPACE.
Read Knight Frank's latest Australian Industrial Review research paper.
James Templeton Partner, National Head of Industrial Logistics
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