What it costs to buy a warehouse in Australia

Small warehouses of 117 to 244 square metres were listed or sold between $675,000 and $1.075m, or $3,125 to $8,462 per square metre. Buildings over 1,000 square metres sold for $2,554 to $4,762 per square metre. Size, location and whether you buy a strata unit or freehold drive the price.

A warehouse is priced by the square metre of building, the land under it and whether you buy a strata unit or the whole freehold. That is why a 149 square metre unit in Sydney's west asks $1,075,000 while a 4,092 square metre building in Perth sold for about $10.5m. This guide sets out 12 asking and sold prices across six states, what small-lot land costs by city, the duty and other costs on top, strata against freehold, buying against leasing, and how an owner-occupier purchase is funded.

What warehouses sell for

This is about buying a warehouse that already exists; for build costs see our construction cost per square metre guide. The table mixes asking prices on listings we opened on 22 October 2026 with recent sold prices, because most industrial agents do not publish a price: Bawdens' first page of Sydney sale listings showed three properties and one price. The Oakleigh South and Neerabup pages are private listings with no date, so confirm they are still available. Figures are the agent's or vendor's, indicative market data and not Ventas offers. Per square metre figures are our arithmetic on building area unless stated.

Three things stand out. Small units cost the most per square metre. The seven units under 250 sqm run $3,125 to $8,537 per sqm, while the four buildings over 1,000 sqm run $2,554 to $4,762. The top of the small range is scarcity: Baringa (82 sqm) and North Melbourne (117 sqm, freehold). Asking rates differ by state. Western Junction in Tasmania and Neerabup north of Perth are the lowest at $3,125 and $3,402, but that is two data points, not a market rate. And read the fine print. Seven Hills is plus GST, Oakleigh South has a tenant, and ONCOR is off the plan: five of its units have sold for a combined $7.5 million, an average of $1.5 million (our arithmetic), so $699,000 is the smallest unit, not the typical one.

What the land under a warehouse costs by city

Knight Frank's 2026 industrial reports are the best published city-by-city benchmark, but they cover institutional-grade stock. Land values are for small lots under 5,000 sqm, the size an owner-occupier buys. Rents and yields are for prime big-box space, so they run below what small units ask to lease.

Sydney's South precinct, around Botany, is the outlier at $4,050 per sqm of land, almost three times the Outer West. Land is moving fastest: Perth small lots rose 14.4% in the year to Q1 2026, Adelaide small lots 10.5% and Brisbane lots of 1 to 5 hectares 15%, while Melbourne land grew less than 5% over three years. Vacancy matters for the buy or lease call: Melbourne reached 5.0% in Q2 2026 with prime incentives of 21.2%, which gives tenants bargaining power. Brisbane is at 3.7%.

Strata unit or freestanding warehouse

A strata unit is one lot in a complex. You own the unit and a share of the common property, you pay body corporate levies, and the complex rules set hours, vehicle movements and what you can change. A freestanding warehouse comes with its own land, so you control the building, the hardstand and any expansion, and you pay for that control.

• Price per square metre. Six of the seven units under 250 sqm in the table are units in complexes. North Melbourne is the freehold one, and it sold at $8,462 per sqm.
• Levies and outgoings. None of the listings we opened states outgoings, and Seven Hills says only that levies are not listed. Ask for two years of levy notices, the sinking fund balance and any special levy planned before you sign.
• Who you compete with. RWC Western Sydney said in June 2026 that demand for its off-the-plan strata projects is strongest between $900,000 and $1.2 million, from owner-occupiers, private investors and SMSF buyers. Owner-occupiers weigh the price against the rent they would otherwise pay, which can support high rates per square metre.

What you pay on top of the price

Transfer duty is the biggest cost on top and it depends on the state. This table works duty on a $1,000,000 purchase from each state's published rates (our arithmetic).

GST. Check whether the price includes it. Seven Hills is $1,075,000 plus GST, which is $107,500 more at 10% (our arithmetic), while Oakleigh South says no GST is payable. A GST-registered business can usually claim GST on a taxable purchase of commercial premises back as a credit, but the cash is needed at settlement, so confirm the handling with your accountant.

Running and buying costs. Council rates, water, insurance and, where it applies, land tax fall on the owner, with strata levies on top for a unit. Add the solicitor, valuation, a building inspection, an environmental check on older sites, and lender fees.

Buying or leasing a warehouse

Small units ask far more per square metre to lease than the big-box rents in the Knight Frank table. Three Bawdens lease listings on 22 October 2026:

Take the 148.9 sqm Seven Hills unit at $1,075,000. Leasing a unit that size at $270 to $429 per sqm would cost about $40,200 to $63,900 a year gross. Buy it with a 70% loan of $752,500 and a $322,500 deposit, and the rent you stop paying equals 5.3% to 8.5% of the loan. Our arithmetic, with no lender rate assumed: if your loan costs less than that, interest is below the rent saved; if more, owning costs more cash each year, before principal, outgoings, duty and the return you give up on the deposit. That rent is also only 3.7% to 5.9% of the price, below the 6.0% to 6.5% prime yields above, so a valuer working from rent could come in under the price.

Buying is a case for control and capital growth, not cheaper cash flow. Leasing keeps flexibility, and it is stronger where vacancy is rising, as in Melbourne.

Financing a warehouse purchase

Warehouses are one of the more fundable commercial properties, but lenders lend against their own valuer's figure, not your contract price, and a valuation below the price lifts your deposit. Three lender types write this loan. Banks lend against the building: Macquarie's May 2026 broker guide shows up to 70% on its commercial property purchase loan, with a five year maximum term, so plan to extend or refinance. Non-bank lenders set their own ceilings, such as the 75% full doc maximum Everstone Finance quotes for La Trobe Financial, and Everstone puts owner-occupiers on a standard industrial asset with full financials at up to 80% of valuation (October 2026). Private lenders can move faster or lend more, at a price, usually short term with an exit plan. Private and commercial lending is typically business-purpose and not consumer regulated. Ventas is a finance broker, not a lender, so we do not quote rates here. They change with the lender, the security and the file.

Illustrative only, subject to lender assessment. A realistic owner-occupier purchase:

And how it is typically funded across lender types:

Debt on the warehouse here is 70% of the price. At 80% the loan would be $960,000 and your funds fall to $301,525, if a lender will go that far on the valuation. A property-backed loan secured on your home can supply the equity layer: Macquarie's guide shows its residentially secured business loan at up to 80% and up to 30 years, against 70% and five years on its commercial purchase loan. The cost is that your home is at risk if the business or the loan fails. Equipment finance is secured on the gear and valued on what it would resell for.

SMSF is a caution, not a plan. A super fund can buy business real property used wholly and exclusively in a business, even from a member, and lease it back at market rent. Borrowing is limited to a limited recourse arrangement, and rent below market can be taxed at 45% (SuperGuide, March 2025). Get specialist SMSF advice first.

What makes a warehouse deal fundable:

• A valuation that supports the price. Order it early.
• The rent you pay today. Everstone calls it the most useful number on an owner-occupier file.
• Vacant or tenanted. A vacant building is valued on the rent it would command empty.
• Condition and compliance. Valuers weigh condition, compliance and environmental matters.
• Financials and security. Full financials for the occupying business, plus cash and property you can put in.

To get a number from Ventas, send the listing link and price, the state, whether it is strata or freehold, whether it will be vacant or tenanted, whether your business will occupy it, your last two years of financials, the rent you pay now, and any property you could offer as extra security. Start at commercial property finance or test a repayment on the secured business loan calculator. Finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Figures are indicative market data from the sources listed, not Ventas offers, and move with the market. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a professional. All finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This article is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Ventas Asset Lending is a finance broker, not a lender. Approvals are subject to lender assessment. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a qualified professional, including your accountant for any tax questions.