• Industrial vacancy: 1.8 per cent at the end of September, down from 2.2 per cent and the lowest of any capital (JLL, buildings over 3,000 sqm)
• Industrial take-up: 85,000 sqm in the September quarter
• Industrial rents: flat over the quarter after a long run of growth
• Notable sales: Kewdale $16.8 million, Canning Vale $16.15 million, Kenwick $11 million, West Leederville $3.42 million
• Biggest project: CDC Data Centres' application for an 85,945 sqm campus at 178–196 Bushmead Road, Hazelmere
• CBD conversion: 178 St Georges Terrace to become a 103-room Holiday Inn Express
• Interest rates: cash rate 4.60 per cent, September CPI 4.3 per cent, a rise to 4.85 per cent widely expected on 3 November

JLL's Q3 report puts Perth industrial vacancy at 1.8 per cent, down from 2.2 per cent in June. That is less than half the national average of 4.6 per cent and well below Sydney's 5.4 per cent. Take-up of 85,000 sqm was solid for a market this size, given how little space is actually available.

Rents held flat for the quarter. After several years of strong growth, that suggests occupiers are reaching the limit of what they will pay for older stock, even if they have few alternatives. The pressure is now showing up in land values and in how hard buyers compete for sites with spare land or development upside.

493–495 Abernethy Road, Kewdale – $16.8 million. Pharmaceutical wholesaler Symbion, part of ASX-listed EBOS Group, sold its only Western Australian distribution centre to Harmony Property Investments on a sale-and-leaseback. The 1.87-hectare site has about 10,093 sqm of buildings and frontages to Glassford Road and Hazelhurst Street. It is a good example of an operator unlocking capital from its property while staying put in a precinct where replacement land is scarce.

1 Brewer Road, Canning Vale – about $16.15 million. Boutique investor Willer Property bought a 2.17-hectare site leased to ASX-listed defence and marine manufacturer VEEM in an off-market deal brokered by Knight Frank. The 4,309 sqm workshop was completed in 2019 with 10 and 25-tonne gantry cranes and rooftop solar. The real attraction is about 9,500 sqm of surplus developable land outside the lease, which gives the buyer income now and a second project later.

49 Coldwell Road, Kenwick – $11 million. Local builders bought a 3.96-hectare holding off-market from a family that had owned it for decades. About 1 hectare along Yule Brook is expected to be given up for open space and drainage, leaving close to 3 hectares to develop. RWC WA Capital Markets handled the sale. Development land in the south-east corridor is now trading as fast as it can be found.

28–30 Northwood Street, West Leederville – $3.42 million. A two-level office, showroom and warehouse of 972 sqm sold through Colliers above the vendor's expectations after more than 80 enquiries and five offers. Owner-occupiers, investors and developers all chased it. Freehold space on the city fringe is in very short supply.

CDC Data Centres has lodged development application DA-386/2026 for a four-storey campus at 178–196 Bushmead Road, Hazelmere. The plans show about 85,945 sqm of floor space in buildings up to 36.5 metres high, close to Perth Airport and the Roe and Tonkin freight network. Public comment closes at 5pm on 5 November and the application goes to the Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel.

For Perth's eastern industrial belt, the application matters beyond one project. Large data centre operators competing for land and power push up values for neighbouring sites and test how much electrical capacity the network can deliver.

The former Singapore Airlines House at 178 St Georges Terrace is set to become a 103-room Holiday Inn Express. IHG and owner SKS Group signed the agreement on 26 October for a conversion reported as a $60 million project. SKS paid $9.5 million for the nine-level, 3,207 sqm building in January.

It is a template other owners of small, older CBD offices will be watching. Where an office building is too small or dated to compete for tenants, a change of use can unlock more value than a refurbishment.

Welshpool, Kewdale and Forrestfield remain the heart of Perth's industrial market. Their location between the airport, the rail terminals and the main freight roads makes them hard to replace. Very little land comes up. That is why sale-and-leasebacks like Symbion's and land-rich sites like Canning Vale and Kenwick draw so much interest. Our Welshpool guides this month go street by street through the precinct for anyone buying, leasing or selling there.

September's CPI of 4.3 per cent has most economists expecting the cash rate to rise to 4.85 per cent on 3 November. Perth's extremely low vacancy gives landlords a buffer that other markets lack, but higher debt costs still affect developers and leveraged private buyers. This month's buyers were a mix of funds, private investors and local builders, many paying with low gearing.

• Welshpool, Kewdale and Forrestfield: almost no vacancy and constant demand from transport and distribution users.
• Canning Vale and Kenwick: the south-east corridor where land with development upside is selling quickly.
• Hazelmere and the airport precinct: new data centre interest on top of steady logistics demand.
• Malaga and Wangara: strong owner-occupier markets for small and mid-sized units.
• City fringe (West Leederville, Osborne Park): scarce freehold space drawing dozens of buyers per listing.

• Surplus land is worth showing. Canning Vale sold well because the spare 9,500 sqm was a clear second opportunity. Make development upside easy for buyers to see.
• Leasebacks unlock capital. Operators who own their premises can sell and stay, as Symbion did, while buyers get secure income.
• Tenants need a plan B. At 1.8 per cent vacancy, occupiers with leases ending in 2027 should start looking now or talk to developers about pre-commitments.
• Older offices have options. The Holiday Inn Express conversion shows a different use can beat a tired office refurbishment.

The RBA decision on 3 November comes first. Then watch the CDC Hazelmere comment period closing on 5 November and the panel decision that follows, whether Perth industrial rents start rising again after a flat quarter and how much new speculative stock developers are prepared to start with vacancy this low.