Many property investors going industrial

Investors are lured by returns in the 8.5 per cent region, stable tenants and quality investment units in the $500,000 and under range.

Demand far outstrips supply, say Colliers International unit market brokers Stephen Murdoch and Greg Goldfinch.

"We have a database of investors who are struggling to find small industrial units," says Murdoch. "New quality units in planned business parks don't sit around for long. Many sell off the plans."

It is the same scenario for owner-occupiers and businesses wanting to lease. There is a huge shortage of stock.

The small unit sector is the biggest real estate market after residential, growing in line with the increasing sophistication of business.

Less than five years ago, many businesses were leasing parts of or sharing another company's property, says Goldfinch.

"During that time developers realised smaller units were a specialised need in their own right, creating a sub-market that has since exploded."

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