The realcommercial.com.au Commercial Property Update for the September 2026 quarter shows increasing popularity in search volume relating to keeping it cool.

Among industrial lease searches, ‘Freezer’ jumped from the seventh to the fourth-most searched keyword compared to the previous report.

Among industrial buy searches, ‘Freezer’ jumped from eighth to seventh; ‘Coolroom’ among industrial lease searches remained steady at eleventh.

Anne Flaherty, Real Commercial senior economist and report author, said the sector’s popularity has been bolstered by strong population growth and changing consumer habits.

“More online grocery shopping, convenience foods and meal delivery are increasing the need for cold chain storage and distribution,” she said.

“Demand is also being supported by the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, where more products require temperature controlled storage. At the same time, supply of modern cold storage remains relatively limited, creating a tight market and supporting continued demand for these specialised industrial facilities.”

The industrial sector is experiencing sustained robust growth more broadly, with sale volumes up 27% over the first six months of 2026 compared to 12 months prior, according to MSCI Real Capital Analytics.

The industrial sector also sees continued yield compression, to sit much lower compared to office and retail, reflective of strong capital growth, constrained supply pipelines and low vacancy rates.

Vanessa Rader, Ray White’s head of research, says cold storage transaction volumes over the past four quarters reached $690 million – nearly double the total recorded over the preceding 12 months.

She said Sydney has overtaken Melbourne as the cold storage capital off the back of the forthcoming Western Sydney Airport driving demand for the sub-sector in that region.

This was exemplified in the 5,702 sqm freezer facility in Kemps Creek leased over 10 years to Knighton Cold Logistics in September.

ReVest Property Group’s Elijah Shakir, who brokered the deal, said the transaction reflected the sub-sector’s strength.

“Kemps Creek continues to prove itself as a premier location for occupiers with specialised infrastructure needs,” he said.

“This facility gives Knighton Cold Logistics the scale and bespoke facility to support their expansion strategy, and its position within the Western Sydney industrial market makes it an ideal complement to their Prestons and Brisbane operations.”

In Western Australia, a huge 8,991 sqm facility on a 27,714 sqm site at 83 Hammond Road, Cockburn Central has also hit the market through Cushman and Wakefield in Melbourne.

“Cold storage is one of the most supply-constrained segments of the industrial market,” said Tony Iuliano, Cushman & Wakefield’s International Director and Head of Logistics & Industrial, ANZ.

“These are highly specialised facilities that are expensive and difficult to replicate, and we continue to see strong demand from occupiers requiring temperature-controlled space.”

In Victoria, a 8,604 sqm cold storage facility in Mitchell Park, Ballarat was acquired by Collective Capital Investments for $21.25 million in a sale and leaseback arrangement with Luv-a-Duck signing a 12-year lease. The deal was negotiated by Knight Frank’s Harley Bowen, Elliot Ryan and Nathan Edgar.

“Specialised assets such as cold storage facilities have become increasingly sought after as investors look to gain exposure to sectors benefiting from structural demand drivers and limited supply,” Mr Edgar said.

“The replacement cost of facilities of this nature has increased significantly in recent years, creating strong barriers to entry and enhancing the appeal of existing, high-quality assets.”

The make-up of those interested in cold storage is also changing; onshore investors and syndicates are muscling in on the sector, as offshore investors put their plans on ice following a bumper 2025 year for transactions to foreign buyers.

“Not all of this new supply is coming out of the ground either. With well-located land increasingly hard to come by, coupled with the rapidly escalation in construction costs, many operators are looking at converting existing dry warehouse space into refrigerated facilities,” Ms Rader said.

“[It is] a faster and often cheaper route to market than a ground-up build, even if it comes with its own engineering difficulties around floor loads, clearances and retrofitting insulation into a building that was never designed for it.”

Read the full article: Demand for cold storage industrial properties heats up