Industrial shines as property returns steady.

The property sector has delivered a 9.3 per cent return to investors for the 12 months to March 2014 according to the Property Council/IPD Australia All Property Index—matching the performance from the 12 months prior to that.

The star was the industrial sub-sector, with a return of 11.3 per cent for the period. Retail and office both returned 9.1 per cent for the same 12 months, while hotels returned 8.8 per cent.

Industrial’s surge was led by distribution centres, whose 13.1 per cent total return was the best in the space for the 12 months. Warehouses (11.6 per cent) and industrial estates (10.4 per cent) were also strong contributors.

In the office market, Melbourne had the strongest performance over the 12 months, at 9.9 per cent; however, Sydney had the most improved showing, raising its return by 1.2 percentage points to 9.3 per cent. This followed improved employment figures for New South Wales.

Green Star-rated offices outperformed the overall office market, with a return of 9.7 per cent for the period.

In retail, neighbourhood malls were the star performer, recording a total return of 12.6 per cent. MAT growth across the states was strongest in NSW and Victoria.

Across the board, transactions are up and are trending positively as well.

“We’ve seen strong demand in the Wollongong region for investment property particularly from local buyers up to $2m.  There has been interest across all market categories ie Industrial, retail and commercial with both Sydney and International groups buying at mid range to high end of the Wollongong market.” says Geoff Jones Managing Director, MMJ Wollongong.