Your opportunity to access the hottest property market in the country

Please note, this interview was recorded Wednesday 29 July, 2026

There haven't been too many positive headlines around Australia's property market lately. Over the past few years, we've been told office buildings are emptying, affordability has reached record lows, construction companies are collapsing, and the rental crisis is deepening. More recently, we've been bombarded with headlines that residential prices are now falling at pace.  

For an asset class long regarded as one of Australia's safest bets, property has spent much of the past few years on the defensive. Yet markets are never uniform. Even in challenging environments, some sectors and locations continue to prosper.

Industrial property has been one of those bright spots, supported by structural trends including population growth, supply chain resilience and rising demand for logistics infrastructure. Darwin has been another. 

While the city's residential market has captured the headlines, the broader story is one of an economy being reshaped by billions of dollars flowing into defence, infrastructure and energy projects. Its proximity to booming markets in Asia is also a major drawcard. 

Investments are creating jobs, driving population growth and increasing demand for industrial property, particularly around strategic logistics hubs such as East Arm. Those are exactly the themes attracting Trilogy Funds.

"Darwin is often overlooked. However, from our perspective, it's a happy hunting ground," says Trilogy Funds Head of Direct Property, Laurence Parisi.

Having already invested in two Darwin industrial assets, Trilogy Funds is now returning with a third opportunity. In the interview above, Parisi explains why he believes the combination of industrial property and Darwin's unique economic backdrop continues to create an attractive environment for long-term investors, and outlines the features of Trilogy Funds' latest logistics investment.

INTERVIEW SUMMARY

Why industrial property continues to stand out

Industrial property has been one of Australia's best-performing commercial real estate sectors for several years, and Parisi believes the underlying investment case remains firmly intact.

While higher interest rates have slowed transaction activity and created a gap between buyer and seller expectations, he says the broader fundamentals have changed little.

"The industrial sub-sector remains the premier and most attractive sub-sector nationally," Parisi says.

"Whilst the last 12 months have been a little more selective with an increase in interest rates, a bit more of a disconnect between buyers and sellers and primary and secondary commercial assets, we feel that the structural tailwinds that we've spoken about previously remain."

Those tailwinds continue to keep vacancy rates low, rents growing and supply broadly in balance with demand.

"Most markets are still in equilibrium. So vacancies are in check, and we're still experiencing positive rental growth. Incentives remain acceptable. So overall, the prospect of income and capital growth is positive."

Although Parisi expects uncertainty around interest rates to continue weighing on transaction volumes in the short term, he believes greater clarity on the rate outlook should gradually narrow the gap between buyers and sellers.

Why Trilogy Funds keeps returning to Darwin

This latest acquisition isn't Trilogy Funds' first, or even second investment in Darwin. It's the firm's third industrial asset in the Northern Territory, reflecting its conviction that the city offers something increasingly difficult to find elsewhere - strong economic growth alongside constrained industrial supply.

Parisi points to a broad mix of economic drivers supporting the local economy, including defence spending, mining, agriculture, and marine industries, and growing trade links with Asia.

"The Northern Territory government has a target of growing the local economy to $40 billion by 2030. It's experiencing population growth. When you deep dive into the industrial sector itself, it's relatively tight."

That combination of limited supply and growing demand has translated into rising rents and capital values.

"The supply side's constrained. There's a good amount of demand. So the market is well and truly in equilibrium... therefore we're experiencing and seeing strong rental growth, which then flows through to capital appreciation."

Parisi also believes Darwin's long-term outlook continues to strengthen as billions of dollars are invested in road, rail and port infrastructure, alongside expanding defence facilities.

"The tremendous amount of defence spend between Australia and the US continues. So all these attributes we feel will continue to support the local economy."

A logistics asset built around a long-term tenant

The latest acquisition is a purpose-built warehouse and logistics facility in East Arm, Darwin's premier industrial precinct.

The property comprises almost 15,000 square metres of warehouse space on a four-hectare site immediately adjacent to the Port of Darwin. It has been designed specifically for national logistics operator Northline and benefits from modern warehousing features including drive-around truck access and dual street frontage.

One of the asset's defining characteristics is its connectivity.

"Uniquely, this asset benefits from access to the port, rail, road, and air. So it effectively ticks all the boxes."

Northline has occupied the facility since it was constructed and has operated in Darwin for more than four decades.

"They're a national operator with over 13 facilities they operate out of around the country... so a well and truly embedded tenant", says Parisi.

The lease will have a remaining weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of around nine years at settlement, with the tenant responsible for all outgoings and annual fixed rental increases of 3%.

"The tenant pays all the outgoings, which gives us certainty on the income that we derive from the asset."

Parisi says the rental increases should not only support growing distributions over time, but also provide investors with a degree of inflation protection.

More than just today's income

While the property is already purpose-built for its tenant, Trilogy Funds also sees longer-term optionality.

Only around 37% of the four-hectare site is currently covered by buildings, leaving scope for future expansion or redevelopment if market conditions warrant it.

Equally important is the strategic role the facility plays within Northline's operations.

"This asset particularly is mission critical for their operation... it's the only facility that they maintain in Darwin."

Parisi believes those characteristics are reinforced by several long-term structural themes.

"It's growth in e-commerce, movement of parcels, infrastructure spend, population growth. And importantly for this particular asset, defence."

He says projects such as Darwin's new ship lift, expanding defence infrastructure, fuel storage facilities and continuing Australian-US defence cooperation should continue supporting industrial demand across the region.

What investors should know

Trilogy Funds intends to offer the property through a single-asset, six-year unlisted property fund.

The Fund is targeting a distribution yield commencing at 7.25% p.a.¹ and increasing to an average of approximately 7.85% p.a.¹ across the investment period, with distributions paid monthly. The Fund is also targeting an internal rate of return above 12.5% p.a.¹ over the life of the fund.

For investors seeking exposure to Australia's strongest-performing commercial property sector in one of the country's fastest-growing regional economies, Parisi believes the opportunity combines many of the characteristics that have underpinned Trilogy Funds' previous Darwin investments.