Inside Commercial Property

Most investors think growing a commercial property portfolio means buying the next property. It usually doesn't. The highest-return capital is often already sitting in the asset you own, in the space that isn't earning, and unlocking it is simpler and cheaper than buying again.

Scott O'Neill and co-host David Hamilton break down the value-add strategies that turn an underperforming commercial property into a stronger one, without a new loan or a new purchase. Because commercial property is valued on its income, a small lift in what an asset earns becomes a large lift in what it's worth. A single lease renegotiation, a strip of idle space, a rezoning nobody noticed, and the valuation moves.

Scott works through the four levers where this plays out, from the lease itself to income from idle space and energy. David brings the developer's eye to the value hiding in zoning, approvals and amalgamation, the kind created through paperwork, not construction.

In this episode:
How a small lift in income turns into a large lift in valuation, and why the lease is the most powerful lever most owners overlook
Where value hides in idle space, from rooftops to unused land, and who actually does the work
The development value that comes from permissions, not building, and roughly what it costs versus what it adds
How to audit your own property for the levers hiding in it
When a value-add stops being a bonus and becomes a costly distraction

Book a Consultation: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/lets-talk

Explore commercial property with Rethink Investing:Australia: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/

Follow Scott O'Neill: https://www.instagram.com/scott_oneill_/Follow Rethink Investing: https://www.instagram.com/rethinkinvesting/

(00:00) Trailer
(01:03) Why Value-Adds, Why Now
(03:20) What a Value-Add Is, and the Four Levers
(06:45) Where Value-Adds Fit, and Why They're a Bonus
(08:33) The Rental Cap Trap That Blew Up a Deal
(11:13) Timing: Buying Short Leases for the Upside
(13:11) Solar: The 20% Cash-on-Cash Play
(16:34) How Solar Works, and How It Lifts Valuation
(20:40) Billboards: Income From Idle Space
(23:03) The Lease Itself: Adding Rentable Area
(24:42) When and How Hard to Push the Rent
(29:14) Why Market Reviews Make or Break a Lease
(34:19) The Development Lever: Dave Co-Teaches
(37:09) Rezoning and Amalgamation: The Real Upside
(43:57) Closing Comments

Scott O'Neill has spent fifteen years building commercial property portfolios through every kind of market. The recent federal budget has rattled Australian property investors, and the headlines have amplified it. Scott's response to the noise: for commercial property, almost none of it changes what actually matters. Here's what does.

In this episode, Scott is joined by new co-host David Hamilton, a developer and host of Everything Property podcast, to work through why a disciplined commercial investor can read the same headlines as everyone else and reach a completely different conclusion.

Commercial sits largely outside the proposed changes, but the more useful point is why that is, and why it was always going to be. A portfolio built on strong yields, cash-flow-positive assets, and quality tenants doesn't depend on the settings that were just shaken. Scott and Dave move quickly past the policy details and into the ground truth: where yields are right now, which asset classes are holding, and what separates an investor who repositions with a plan from one who reacts to a headline.

In this episode:
- Why commercial property sits largely outside the proposed budget changes and why that's structural, not luck
- Where commercial property yields are strongest right now: retail, large format, shopping centres, warehouses
- The difference between an investor who repositions with a plan and one who reacts to a headline
- What a developer's eye picks up that a commercial investor can miss- How to read a genuine asset from one that only looks good on paper

Book a Consultation: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/lets-talkExplore commercial property with Rethink Investing:- Australia: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/

Follow Scott O'Neill: https://www.instagram.com/scott_oneill_/Follow Rethink Investing: https://www.instagram.com/rethinkinvesting/

(00:00) Trailer
(00:59) Welcome and Introducing New Co-Host
(02:58) A Developer's Perspective on Commercial Property
(04:14) Does the Budget Actually Change Commercial Property?
(10:12) Negative Gearing vs Capital Gains, Explained
(16:01) Should First-Time Investors Buy Now or Wait?
(19:39) Why Fundamentals Beat the Tax Breaks
(23:06) What Commercial Investors Are Really Doing Now
(26:05) The Investors Who Panic vs The Ones Who Buy
(34:32) Where Commercial Yields Are Strongest Right Now
(38:07) Warehouses and Industrial: The Yield Play
(42:08) The Strategy That Hasn't Changed Since 2010
(45:25) Why Everyone Is Suddenly Talking Commercial
(49:02) Inside The Development Industry
(54:16) The Long View: Fundamentals Outlast

Most sophisticated investors rule hotels and motels out before they understand them, and in doing so they overlook one of the most compelling yields in commercial property today. Hotels and motels are a new asset class in the Australian and New Zealand markets, and one that most investors have never been taught to understand. In this episode of Inside Commercial Property, Scott O'Neill is joined by Selin Ince, Rethink Group's hotels and motels acquisition specialist, to unpack the asset class: the investment structure of hotels and motels, why the misconceptions persist, and why the barrier to entry is far more achievable for the experienced private investor than most assume.

The hesitation almost always comes from one assumption: that the whole category means running a hospitality business. It doesn't. A leased hotel is a commercial lease with a strong tenant covenant, structurally no different from the leased industrial or retail these investors already own. The motel is a separate proposition, a smaller-ticket operating business with real value-add upside for the hands-on buyer. Selin sets out both with precision: the structure, the numbers, the finance, and the entry points that put this within reach of private capital, not institutions alone.

In this episode:
- Leased hotels versus motels: one is a passive lease, the other an operating business
- What ownership of a leased hotel really involves, and what it doesn't
- How leased hotel and motel yields compare with industrial and retail
- Where the private-buyer entry points sit, from motels through to passive boutique hotels
- How the finance stacks up, and the first move for an investor ready to take the asset class seriously

Book a Consultation: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/lets-talk

Explore commercial property with Rethink Investing:
- Australia: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/

Follow Scott O'Neill: https://www.instagram.com/scott_oneill_/
Follow Rethink Investing: https://www.instagram.com/rethinkinvesting/

(00:00) Trailer
(01:23) Why Commercial Property Leads Are Rising Now
(02:57) Introducing Hotels and Motels as an Asset Class
(04:16) What Makes a Hotels and Motels Specialist
(04:54) Why Off-Market Access Matters in Hotels
(06:26) Common Misconceptions About Hotel Investing
(07:13) Hotel and Motel Price Points Explained
(08:04) Leased Hotels vs Motels: The Key Difference
(10:47) Hotel and Motel Yields Compared to Industrial
(12:47) What You're Actually Buying With a Leased Hotel
(26:16) Where the Genuine Opportunity Now Sits
(31:36) Finance and Lending for Hotels and Motels
(38:20) Passive Hotel Entry Points for Investors
(41:31) The Sensible First Step Into the Asset Class

New Zealand commercial property is drawing serious attention from Australian investors, and the yields are a big part of why. In this episode of Inside Commercial Property, Scott O’Neill is joined by Matt Harris and Michael Vincent of Lighthouse Financial to unpack what’s making the New Zealand market so compelling right now.Lighthouse is one of New Zealand’s leading financial services firms, guiding more than 4,000 Kiwis toward financial freedom since 2014 with holistic advice spanning accounting, lending, and investment. The conversation covers the forces shaping New Zealand property in 2026. New Zealand has moved through the interest rate cycle ahead of Australia, with the official cash rate easing significantly from its peak, and that shift is changing how investors think. For an everyday Australian investor, the combination of a favourable exchange rate, no stamp duty, and a maturing commercial market makes a genuine case for diversification.Matt and Michael also explain the practical side of buying across the Tasman: how the structures, lending, and tax considerations work for a foreign investor, and why the experience is more familiar than most Australians expect.In this episode, we cover:- Why New Zealand’s position in the interest rate cycle is reshaping investor behaviour.- How the shift toward income-driven assets is opening the door to commercial property.- What the exchange rate, stamp duty, and lending environment mean for an Australian buyer.- How New Zealand’s commercial market is maturing, and where the opportunities sit.- The structures, tax, and first steps for an Australian investing in New Zealand.Explore New Zealand commercial property with Rethink Investing:- New Zealand: https://www.rethinkinvesting.co.nz/ - Australia: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/ Book a Consultation: https://www.rethinkinvesting.com.au/lets-talk Explore Lighthouse Financial: https://lighthousefinancial.co.nz/

With sentiment turning cautious, interest rates remaining elevated, and major policy changes looming ahead of the Federal Budget, many investors are sitting on the sidelines. But as this podcast episode explores, market hesitation often creates the best opportunities for those willing to act with conviction.On Inside Commercial Property, host Phil Tarrant is joined by Scott O’Neill to unpack the current state of the property market, and why we may be entering one of the most important investment periods of the decade.In this episode, we cover:Why negative sentiment isn’t always a bad thing for investors.The impact of the upcoming Federal Budget and potential tax changes.Why affordability policy could reshape how and where people invest.The growing importance of cash flow versus capital growth.How commercial property differs structurally, and why it’s gaining attention.The risks of poor advice in an unregulated buyer’s agent market.How business principles (cash flow, margins, risk management) apply directly to investing.With potential changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, and broader housing policy, the rules of the game may be shifting. But one thing remains constant: The investors who succeed are those who focus on fundamentals, not headlines.