Asia‑Pacific warehouse rents: Beijing down 20.9%, Brisbane up 10.4%

Market Context & Direct Impact

Warehouse rent, a core holding cost, now depends on the city. Knight Frank's Asia-Pacific Logistics Highlights report puts regional logistics rents up 1.2% in the first half of 2026 from six months earlier, with 15 of 18 tracked cities stable or rising year on year. Declines in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland markets of Beijing and Shanghai tempered the growth, the firm says. In Beijing, new completions lifted vacancy above 32%, and the year-on-year rent decline accelerated to 20.9% from 18.1% in the second half of 2025. Brisbane, Australia, recorded the region's strongest growth, at 10.4% year on year.

Occupiers hold the stronger hand in much of the region, for now. Cushman & Wakefield, in a release dated 30 June 2026 on its Waypoint 2026 report, puts 47% of Asia-Pacific markets as favoring occupiers, up from 33% in 2025. The same release expects vacancy to decline in 43% of Asia-Pacific markets over the next three years and tenant-favorable conditions to moderate. Knight Frank's outlook is for rents to stay largely stable, with growth under 2%, and it says relocations, consolidations and upgrades primarily drove leasing.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Mainland Supply WaveDirectly after its Beijing figures, Knight Frank cites an expected pipeline of 1.5 million sqm delivering through 2027 and says supply pressure will remain significant.
• Australian Incentives SplitKnight Frank reports incentives rising to an average of 20% in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne, against under 13% in Brisbane.
• India Stays BalancedKnight Frank describes India's market conditions as relatively balanced, shows vacancy of 13.5% in Mumbai, 14.7% in Delhi-NCR and 17.6% in Bengaluru, and marks all three for rising rents over 12 months.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Reprice in tenant markets

   Occupiers with leases expiring in Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney or Melbourne should open renewal talks early, benchmark the landlord's offer against current market rents and incentives, and trade term length for a lower effective rent or the right to hand back surplus space.

2. 2
   Lock in rising-rent markets

   In Brisbane and the Indian metros, where Knight Frank's 12-month outlook shows rents increasing, secure extension options or pre-commit to new space before expiry, and use any consolidation into a modern facility to cut handling and storage cost per unit.

Filed 15:59 GMT, 10 October 2026, for the second edition of 10 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Asia-Pacific Logistics Highlights H1 2026 (chart pages marked 'Updated Aug 2026')Knight Frank
2. Asia Pacific logistics rents rise 1.2% in H1 2026Real Estate Asia, published 7 September 2026
3. Asia Pacific Logistics Markets Diverge Despite 47% Tenant-Favorable Conditions as Supply Constraints Begin to Shift BalanceCushman & Wakefield, published 30 June 2026

Claims ledger: 15 facts and where each comes from

• Knight Frank's Asia-Pacific Logistics Highlights report covers H1 2026; its chart pages are marked 'Updated Aug 2026'. It states: 'As a result, rent growth was broad based albeit marginal across most markets in region, rising 1.2% in H1 2026 from six months ago.'¹
• Knight Frank's report states that 15 of 18 tracked cities recorded stable or increasing rents year on year in H1 2026.¹
• Real Estate Asia reported on 7 September 2026, citing Knight Frank's Asia-Pacific Logistics Highlights H1 2026 report, that regional rents increased 1.2% over the six-month period, with 15 of 18 tracked markets recording stable or higher rents year on year.²
• Knight Frank's report states: 'Overall growth remained tempered by declines in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland markets of Beijing and Shanghai, as the supply boom continued to favour tenants.'¹
• Knight Frank's report states of Beijing that 'a significant wave of new completions lifted vacancy rates to over 32%' and that 'The year-on-year decline in rentals accelerated to 20.9% in H1 2026, compared with 18.1% in H2 2025.'¹
• In its commentary on the Chinese mainland markets, directly after the sentences giving Beijing's vacancy and rent decline, Knight Frank's report states: 'With an expected pipeline of 1.5 million sqm delivering through 2027, supply pressure will remain significant.' The sentence itself names no city.¹
• Knight Frank's report states: 'Brisbane recorded the strongest rental growth in H1 2026.' Its rental growth chart shows Brisbane at 10.4% year on year. Real Estate Asia reported that Brisbane recorded the region's strongest rental growth, with rents up 10.4% year on year.¹²
• Knight Frank's report states: 'Sydney and Melbourne remained characterised by tenant-friendly conditions as these markets continued to absorb recent supply additions, with incentives rising to an average of 20%.'¹
• Knight Frank's report states: 'In contrast, Brisbane exhibited more balanced conditions, supported by tighter vacancies and incentives at under 13%.'¹
• Knight Frank's report states: 'India remained one of the most active logistics occupier markets in Asia Pacific in H1 2026, supported by sustained manufacturing growth, domestic consumption and ongoing supply chain diversification.' It adds: 'Consequently, market conditions remained relatively balanced.'¹
• Knight Frank's report shows H1 2026 vacancy of 13.5% in Mumbai, 14.7% in Delhi-NCR and 17.6% in Bengaluru, and its 12-month rental outlook lists Brisbane, Singapore, Melbourne, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai as 'Increasing'.¹
• Knight Frank's report states: 'Leasing activity was primarily driven by relocations, consolidations and upgrades, which reflected a more disciplined approach to real estate decisions.'¹
• Knight Frank's report states in its outlook text: 'Rents will stay largely stable with growth to be under 2%.' The sentence names no period; the report separately carries a callout labelled 'Expectations for H2 2026'.¹
• Cushman & Wakefield's release, dated 30 June 2026 on its Greater China news page, states: 'According to Cushman & Wakefield's Waypoint 2026 report, APAC remains the most tenant-favorable region globally, with 47% of markets favoring occupiers, up from 33% in 2025, although conditions vary significantly as supply and demand dynamics continue to diverge across markets.'³
• The Cushman & Wakefield release states that '43% of APAC markets are expected to see vacancy decline over the next three years, reflecting a gradual tightening of market conditions', and one of its headline points reads 'Tenant-favorable markets in APAC expected to moderate as conditions tighten'.³

Every figure above was read from its source on the day of filing and re-checked against that source by a separate fact-check before publication. Found an error? Tell the desk.