• Pubs: Cricketers Arms Hotel, 61 Bruce Street, Cooks Hill, sold off-market for more than $10 million
• Hotels: Caves Coastal Bar & Bungalows, 27 Mawson Close, Caves Beach, bought by Redcape for about $40 million
• Data centres: AirTrunk's $3.7 billion, 550.5MW campus at Loxford near Kurri Kurri on exhibition until 11 November
• Industrial land: the 1,142-hectare Macquarie Coal Complex at Teralba and BHP's Mt Arthur at Muswellbrook rezoned for industry, with more than 7,000 jobs forecast
• 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

Cricketers Arms Hotel, Cooks Hill – more than $10 million. A syndicate led by Ashton Waugh and Ben Lawler, with Ryan Haynes, bought the corner pub at 61 Bruce Street off-market from John and Lynette Hayes, who had run it since 2006. The 933 sqm site has a bar, bistro, gaming room with 11 machines and a beer garden. The same group bought the nearby Commonwealth Hotel in 2023, so they now hold two pubs a few hundred metres apart. HTL Property handled the deal.

Caves Coastal Bar & Bungalows, Caves Beach – about $40 million. Redcape Hotel Group bought the waterfront venue from Oscars Hotels, which paid $35 million in early 2022. The almost one-hectare freehold site has 18 bungalows, a bar, bistro, function rooms and 17 gaming machines, with weekly revenue above $200,000. It is Redcape's latest step in a rapid expansion across the Hunter and Central Coast.

Both deals show strong demand for hospitality property with trading history, gaming and room to grow, particularly in coastal and inner-city locations.

AirTrunk's proposed data centre campus at Loxford, near Kurri Kurri, is on public exhibition until 11 November. The project is valued at about $3.7 billion with 550.5MW of capacity. The Hunter offers what metropolitan Sydney increasingly cannot: large sites, grid connections and room to grow.

For the region's industrial landowners, it is a sign that the Hunter is now on the national map for digital infrastructure, not just mining and manufacturing.

The Macquarie Coal Complex at Teralba and West Wallsend and BHP's Mt Arthur coal mine at Muswellbrook were formally rezoned for new industry. The Teralba precinct covers 1,142 hectares about 20 km south-west of Newcastle, with at least 500 hectares that can be developed, up to 1,130 jobs and new open space and housing land. Mt Arthur is a 5,700-hectare precinct. The state and federal governments say the two sites could support more than 7,000 jobs once rehabilitated.

Turning mine land into employment land is a long process, but it gives the Hunter a large future supply of industrial sites in a region where serviced land is limited today.

Newcastle's industrial market, centred on Beresfield, Thornton, Tomago and Cardiff, continues to benefit from the port, the M1 and the New England Highway. Local businesses, defence suppliers around Williamtown and logistics operators keep demand steady for modern sheds. In the city, hospitality and mixed-use projects are reshaping the West End and Honeysuckle.

September's CPI of 4.3 per cent has economists expecting a rise to 4.85 per cent on 3 November. Hotel groups and syndicates were the active buyers this month, many of them pricing on trading performance rather than cheap debt. Private investors buying smaller industrial units with bank finance will feel the higher rates most.

• Cooks Hill and the city: pubs and hospitality drawing private syndicates.
• Lake Macquarie (Caves Beach, Teralba): coastal hotels and a huge future industrial precinct.
• Kurri Kurri and the Hunter Expressway corridor: data centre and logistics interest.
• Beresfield, Thornton and Tomago: the core industrial market for local and national operators.
• Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter: long-term transition from coal to new industry.

• Hospitality buyers want the full picture. Trading figures, gaming, accommodation and development upside all count. Present them clearly.
• Big land needs a vision. Rezoned mine sites and large rural parcels sell on what they could become. Masterplans and clear imagery help buyers and councils see it.
• Location matters regionally. Access to the M1, Hunter Expressway, port and airport is a key selling point. Show it plainly.

Watch the RBA decision on 3 November, submissions on AirTrunk's Kurri Kurri campus closing on 11 November and the first steps towards developing the rezoned Teralba land.