Caboolture and the northern corridor are the latest areas to feel the pinch on industrial land supply, with the final forty lots of Caboolture’s Corporate Park East selling out in just three days.

Initial needs analysis projected that the 86 General Industry lots would provide eight years of supply to the local market. But three years and $100 million in land sales later, the park has sold out in a pattern that has been repeated across the region according to the marketing agents RWC Northern Corridor Group’s Chris Massie and Aaron Canavan.  

“Brendale, Narangba, Deception Bay, Burpengary - we have seen the whole corridor cleaned out of serviced general industry (GI) land in the last three years and businesses are starting to feel the effects of it,” Mr Massie said. 

Prices of serviced industrial land across the Northern Corridor have almost tripled since the first blocks sold in Corporate Park East in 2020, with some of the latest round of sales from the RWC Northern Corridor Group team topping $600/sqm.

The industrial land shortage is being compounded by the rapid population shift to the region since COVID. Caboolture West and Morayfield South have the capacity to accommodate 100,000 new residents and have been a focal point for the National Housing Accord, which aims to deliver 1.2 million new homes in the next five years.  

This opportunity is reflected in the Moreton Bay Regional Economic Development Strategy, which sees the council setting a target of creating 100,000 new jobs and attracting 16,000 new businesses to the region by 2041.

RWC Northern Corridor Group senior analyst Ashley Rees has been working with the council to try and address the supply problem over recent years.  

“The planning and economic development teams at the council are really doing the work, but Moreton Bay has become such a beast that we’re in danger of becoming a victim of our own success,”  Mr Rees said. 

While key residential developments in these precincts have been fast tracked, progress has lagged on activating new industrial land to keep pace with the growing demand.

“There are no new precincts capable of delivering significant serviced GI land between Brisbane and Caboolture in the next five years and we already have 50 per cent of our residents forced to leave the shire to go to work each day due to lack of employment options.

“Right now, the country is screaming out for affordable housing and labour. Moreton Bay has the opportunity to satisfy both of these needs, if we could only deliver the industrial land needed to accommodate the business demand. 

Investigation areas further north in Elimbah and Caboolture West offer the potential of future supply relief, but Mr Massie said significant environmental, planning and infrastructure constraints make delivery timelines uncertain.

“We are working with the landowners of key strategic parcels across the Northern Corridor and we are excited for the longer term implications of these projects, but we also know the years of work that stand in the way of the first businesses opening their doors,” Mr Massie said. 

“Until then, those lucky enough to own industrial property through this corridor really are sitting on the golden ticket.”

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