Hailstorm dents Sydney industrial warehouse availability

The hailstorm that hit Sydney recently damaged several warehouses, with CBRE estimating that more than 150,000 square metres of warehouse space is now urgently needed.

Vacancy rates are likely to decline, Peter Blade, director of industrial property at CBRE tipped.

The Australian Financial Review reported companies such as Costco, Linfox, Hitachi Transport, Beiersdorf Australia, Hyundai's Mobis, and Metcash are all in a race to find accommodation.

Hitachi Transport had only moved into its state of the art brand new premises, comprising about 17,000 square metres, last week and was now likely to have to relocate into an older building.

The largest affected was Metcash, whose 82,853 square metre distribution centre at Huntingwood sustained significant damage. Costco's property at Huntingwood Drive is also out of action.

Landlords affected include Goodman Group and Australand Property Group. However most of the damage will be covered by insurance.
Peter Blade forecasts rents for medium-sized buildings to rise from about $110-$115 to above $115 in the medium-term.