Industrial land on the Central Coast is in hot demand.
Prices for individual industrial land have skyrocketed with a property at Somersby increasing in value by more than 80 per cent in one year.
Across the Coast, prices increased by 46 per cent for industrial land between 2021 and 2022.
And then prices increased again by 15.6 per cent over the 12 months to July 1, 2023.
This was more than the average across NSW of 9.6 per cent for industrial land.
The land values were based on the analysis of 1,339 industrial property sales across NSW.
The increases were driven by limited supply, continuing development demands and the upgrading of infrastructure.
“There has been very limited release of new industrial land in the wider Hunter Coast region over recent years, leading to a long-term trend of consistently rising land values,” the Valuer General said.
“The demand for industrial land has also been supported by significant local population growth, particularly in nearby urban release areas.”
These increases came on top of increases in the previous two years.
“Industrial land values across all of NSW have been increasing since 2020 through an accelerating transition of traditional retail business towards e-commerce operations and on-line retailing factors driving strongly increased demand for industrial land,” the Valuer General report of July 2022 said.
“At the same time, there has been a longer-term trend toward dwindling supply of new industrial land releases in the wider region.
“The traditionally tightly held light industrial precincts in Gosford, Erina, Kincumber and Woy Woy showed more moderate increases in value.
“These areas lack proximity to major roads, primarily service local neighbourhoods with minimal influence from broader structural economic trends.”
Undeveloped industrial land within Bushells Ridge experienced a strong increase in value in 2022 along with working waterfront land at Mooney Mooney.
“The Central Coast as a region is more accessible in recent years with the opening of the North Connex linking to the M1 Motorway and shortening travel times from the Central Coast into the Sydney metropolitan area,” the report said.
“This has aided the permanent relocation and migration from Sydney metropolitan areas towards the Central Coast.”
An industrial land supply update on the Central Coast is due for release in coming weeks with a snapshot provided to the Central Coast Chapter of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) this month.
The total employment land supply on the Coast is 2,498ha, with 81.3ha zoned for use; 54.7 per cent is zoned but undeveloped and 22.5 per cent zoned and serviced but undeveloped.
Since 2021, seven hectares were taken-up for development and no additional land was zoned to employment land.
In comparison, the Hunter region, which has 8,245ha of employment lands had 43 hectares taken-up for development and another 89 hectares land zoned to employment land in the same time frame.
Deputy Secretary, Planning, Land Use Strategy, Housing and Infrastructure, Monica Gibson, addressed a recent UDIA luncheon, saying the Industrial land supply update was coming soon.
She said the department wanted more fine grain information from them about the industrial land situation on the Coast.
The Warner Business Park in Hue Hue Rd sold most of its 13 lots of stage four land in three days when released recently.
Previously offered stages of more than 50 lots are sold out.
Agents say there is a lot of interest from businesses wanting to relocate to the Coast but they can’t find suitable sites.
Merilyn Vale