Tim Jones, managing director of commercial sales at MMJ Wollongong said there was a sentiment that "not everything's going to the open market now - there's a fair bit of off-market activity".

"The real sought-after area is industrial; it's red hot and we can't list enough of it," he said.

"It's really strong. There's a lot of demand and not a lot of supply.

"Unanderra, Port Kembla and parts of North Wollongong are really sought-after."

Elsewhere, Mr Jones said a notable commercial sale was 128-134 Crown Street, Wollongong.

Featuring Westpac as a major tenant, it recently sold for $7,500,000 to a Sydney-based investor buying their first property in the region.

"Overall market conditions are good - there's still people out there wanting to tap into higher yields, which is what commercial property provides," Mr Jones said.

"We're getting a lot of activity from the Sydney marketplace looking to probably find slightly better yields by going a little more regional.

"The reality is, a lot of Sydney buyers don't view Wollongong as regional any more. They view it as an outer part of Sydney in a lot of ways, and are getting good returns."

He predicted the region's market would be "just as strong, if not a little stronger" in 2020.

Read more: Property valuation and advisory company Herron Todd White looks at Wollongong's residential property market for 2019