For the fourth consecutive year, industrial property is the best-performing commercial sector in South Africa. Vacancies across prime Gauteng logistics nodes remain tight, rental growth is running ahead of both offices and retail, and the tenant base — logistics, e-commerce fulfilment, light manufacturing and cold storage — keeps deepening.

The nodes that matter

Demand concentrates along the N1, N3 and R21 corridors. Waterfall, Linbro Park and Longmeadow serve the northern distribution market; Pomona, Meadowdale and the R21 corridor feed OR Tambo's airfreight economy; Samrand and Rosslyn anchor the Pretoria axis; and the East Rand's older stock in Spartan, Jet Park and Boksburg offers value for owner-occupiers. Access geometry matters more than address — a site 500m from a highway on-ramp with poor truck articulation will always underperform.

What rentals and yields look like

Prime new-build logistics space lets at roughly R90–R130/sqm; older but functional mini-units and midi-units trade in the R60–R95/sqm band. Yields on industrial assets typically price between 9% and 11% — a meaningful premium over prime offices — and the sector's low tenant-installation costs and long triple-net leases keep more of that yield in the owner's pocket.

The power question

Three-phase capacity, amperage and the cost of upgrading supply are now first questions, not diligence footnotes. Sites with spare electrical capacity, or roof structures engineered for solar, command premiums. For tenants running compressors, cold rooms or machinery, backup power arrangements can decide a letting.

Due diligence essentials

Before buying: confirm zoning and consent use, check eaves height against modern racking requirements (10m+ for serious logistics users), inspect yard depth and truck turning circles, verify municipal rates clearances and any historic environmental liabilities, and stress-test the rent roll against market rentals rather than in-place escalated rates — a lease escalating at 8% annually outruns the market within three or four years, creating renewal risk that inflates the apparent yield.

Stone Capital originates and brokers industrial investment opportunities across Gauteng, KZN and the Western Cape. Browse current investment listings →