Norwest Property Market Update 2nd Half of 2019

The median sale price for commercial property in Norwest was $7,122 per sqm as of Q2 2019. This represents a half-yearly (Q4 2018 – Q2 2019) price softening of -7.5%. The variations in median price per sqm are attributed to the various commercial offerings transacted in Norwest across the period, as well as limited transaction volumes (with a total of 18 commercial sales occurring in Q2 2019).

In contrast, the median price per sqm for industrial properties reflected a more stable trend, at $4,225 per sqm during Q2 2019. This represents a half-yearly price softening of -1.2%. Sales of industrial properties have increased by +80.0% between Q4 2018 - Q2 2019, whilst commercial sales increased +50.0% over the same period. Despite relatively low sales volumes in both markets, there is evidently a growing preference for industrial property stock in Norwest.

Leasing activity in the commercial sector in Norwest increased over the six months to Q2 2019, by +42.9%. At the same time, the industrial market in Norwest slowed, with total leasing activity across softening by a similar -38.9% across this period. A median price of $350 per sqm was recorded for commercial leases in Norwest across Q2 2019, whilst industrial properties recorded a median price of $180 per sqm over the same period.

Norwest is set to benefit from an estimated $2.6B of development, scheduled to commence between 2017-2019. There are 106 major projects due to commence, which represents 59.9% of the original development pipeline, with approximately $1.7B (or 40.1%) either deferred or abandoned by developers.