Industrial land in a specific arc of western and south-western Sydney, roughly following the fibre backbone that connects the eastern seaboard's data infrastructure, has appreciated at rates that outstrip almost every other industrial category in the country. The reason is data-centre demand.
What the buyers want
The specific attributes are unglamorous but expensive to find: at least ten hectares of flat land, three-phase power at 100 megawatts or higher, proximity to major fibre routes, planning approval that does not require rezoning, and access to water for cooling.
The competitive pressure
Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all announced Australian data-centre expansions. Their expansions run to hundreds of megawatts of capacity each. The competition for suitable land has pushed prices well beyond levels that traditional industrial users can pay.
The consequence, for the property market, is that traditional warehouses are being outbid by data-centre developers for the best sites. The consequence for consumers is data storage that is closer, faster, and, at the wholesale level, more competitive.
