It comes as the rental growth in Sydney's west has been been strong in the short term, as tenants scrambled to get accommodation following the April hail storms that saw at least four large warehouses significantly damaged.

Savills' industrial executive, Moshe Greengarten​, has estimated there has been a 25 per cent rise in demand for short-term space, after the storm. That has also resulted in a rise in rents.

"Within the 20,000-square-metre plus size there are only a handful of A-grade buildings available which will result in heightened demand for secondary grade stock," Mr Greengarten said.

The latest report from JLL estimates the Australian industrial property sector is building towards a recovery in occupier demand conditions at a point where the development cycle is more subdued, indicating rental growth may accelerate in the next few years.

The industrial sector remains in favour with investors and JLL are predicting another record year for industrial sales transaction volumes.

JLL's Australian head of industrial, Michael Fenton said the volume of industrial transactions in the first quarter of 2015 was reasonable at more than $541 million for the Australian market.

"However, JLL alone currently has over $600 million of industrial property in due diligence, so we expect the transaction volumes to build rapidly in the second quarter," he said.

Mr Fenton predicts investors will have a few good opportunities to acquire prime grade property this year, but that competition will be spirited.

"The depth of capital available to purchasers and the growing number of investor groups looking to acquire industrial property in 2015 means there will continue to be unsatisfied capital building up in the sector."

Several parties are believed to be  interested in the GIC portfolio, including DEXUS, private groups such as Propertylink, Altis Property, and some Asian-based investors.

The redevelopment potential for turning older warehouses into apartments has also made the sector very attractive in the past few years.

Goodman Group has been selling non-core properties across Sydney to developers, including Meriton Group to develop into apartments.

Head of industrial research JLL Australia, Nick Crothers, said the outlook for industrial occupier demand looks bright, particularly in the Eastern Seaboard markets.

"A strong residential development cycle is under way and the retail sector is also in the early stages of a steady cyclical recovery. Australia's strong population growth and housing investment cycle is clearly supporting a higher level of consumption spending," Mr Crothers said.

"Owners of logistics property are also benefiting from new sources of demand including online retailers, international retailers and ongoing consolidation from major third party logistics operators.