Sydney colocation at US$140-215/kW/month is among APAC's most competitive, with medium-term downward pressure as supply doubles
Sydney colocation runs at US$140 to US$215 per kW per month, among the most competitive in Asia Pacific and less than half Singapore's top end, with 68% of capacity under construction already pre-committed against a long-run norm near 38%.
Colocation pricing: CBRE, Q1 2025
CBRE (Q1 2025): Sydney 250-500 kW deployments price at US$140-215/kW/month, a slight YoY decline, versus Singapore US$310-470 (the world's most expensive) and Tokyo US$190-355. The global weighted average is US$217.30 (+3.3% YoY). M3 Property calls Sydney 'among the most competitive in APAC' with medium-term downward pressure as the pipeline doubles existing supply.
Pricing data gap. Retail rack-level pricing by operator is tracked only in ResearchAndMarkets' paywalled database (register item 2); wholesale AU $/kW rates are unpublished (register item 8).
Colocation price by market, US$/kW/month
Vacancy & absorption
2023 and 2024
Australia: take-up exceeded new supply in 2023 and 2024, first time on record (M3/Colliers/DC Byte).
Q1 2025
Global weighted vacancy 6.6% (Q1 2025, CBRE). Sydney was the only major APAC market where availability fell YoY in Q1 2025; remaining availability concentrates in newer suburban wholesale facilities.
Nov 2025
Record-low national vacancy (Nov 2025).
Next few years, to 2027
JLL expects APAC vacancy to hold 6.5-7.0% for the next few years, with 4.8 GW of new APAC supply by 2027, 78% preleased.
Sydney colocation prices at less than half Singapore's top end, while 68% of capacity under construction is already pre-committed, ~1.8x the long-run norm
Sydney is among APAC's most competitive large markets, less than half Singapore's top end
Pre-commitment is running at ~1.8x the long-run norm: speculative build risk is low, power-delivery risk is not
Colocation pricing, US$/kW/month, Q1 2025 (CBRE)
Share of capacity pre-committed, %
Global weighted average
The economics per megawatt are now visible: ~A$2m/MW/yr contracted EBITDA at the top end, ~50% EBITDA margins in listed colocation
Anchors
| Anchor | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| CDC hyperscale contracted EBITDA | ~A$2m/MW/yr | A$2bn annualised at 1 GW deployed |
| NEXTDC uEBITDA margin (FY26) NEXTDC FY26 Results Announcement and Annual Report (27 Aug 2026) | 50% of total revenue; 61% of net | A$248.8m on A$496.5m / A$405.0m |
| NEXTDC gross margin NEXTDC FY26 Results Announcement and Annual Report (27 Aug 2026) | ~82% | FY26 net revenue A$405.0m on total revenue A$496.5m |
| NEXTDC FCF NEXTDC FY26 Results Announcement and Annual Report (27 Aug 2026) | -A$1,976.3m (FY26) | Operating cash flow A$99.9m less payments for PP&E A$2,076.1m; -A$2,962.5m including investment property and intangibles. Deep-negative during build-out, the J-curve price |
| CDC operating earnings path | ~A$400m FY26 to >=A$1bn FY28 | 555 MW contract conversion |
| Build cost | A$6-15m/MW | Section 05 derivations |
NEXTDC FY26, A$m: revenue and underlying EBITDA against the build-out charges (D&A, interest)
| Item | Value (A$) |
|---|---|
| Total revenue | 496.5 |
| Net revenue | 405 |
| uEBITDA | 248.8 |
| D&A | 262.5 |
| Interest | 81.7 |
Deal structures that allocate the risk
- 10-30-year hyperscale leases. (CDC 555 MW = 10-yr minimum with renewals; Telstra Clayton sale-leaseback = 30 years at 4.2% yield).
- Build-to-suit. (Sharon AI at NEXTDC M3; Firmus at CDC-partnered sites).
- Powered-shell vs fully-fitted: Goodman offers both; shell transfers fit-out capex and obsolescence risk to the tenant.
- 50:50 development JVs. (Stockland/EdgeConneX) and capital-partnered development (Goodman's A$14bn (€8bn) European partnership with CPP Investments; an Australian development partnership now expected 1H FY27).
- REIT stabilised-asset vehicles. (DigiCo) as the exit for completed product.
Margin quality note
NEXTDC's FY26 statutory profit of A$82.1m rests on a A$128.8m non-cash fair-value gain; on the historical accounting basis, unaudited and prepared for comparison only, FY26 would have been a loss before tax of A$108.4m and a loss after tax of A$103.9m, after D&A (A$262.5m reported) and finance costs (A$81.7m). That loss is a build-out artefact, and listed earnings will lag cash economics for years. Underwrite EBITDA conversion ahead of EPS.
Sources
- CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2025, as at 24 Jun 2025
- M3 Property, as at Sep 2024
- JLL, as at 10 Mar 2026
- M3 Property, as at Nov 2025
- Bloomberg via Energy Connects, as at May 2026
- Motley Fool, as at 9 Sep 2026
- Allens, as at 2025
- Goodman, as at Feb 2026, Aug 2026
- PwC, as at Mar 2026
- NEXTDC FY26 Results Announcement and Annual Report, as at 27 Aug 2026
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