Commercial Property & The Economy

The IMF has just given Australia the thumbs upLast week, to the IMF gave the Australian economy a positive report card — with a projected growth of 1.8% for 2011, and 3.3% for the ensuing 12 months.

Clearly there is international concern about the state of affairs within Europe and the US.

However, that belies the positive impact being provided by the rest of the world.

Although China’s growth is slowing, it still remains at a healthy 9% per annum; and India is not too far behind at 7.5% per annum.

When you add to that Latin America at 4%, and parts of Africa at close to 6% … you then start to see the northern Atlantic problems in some perspective. [Read more…]

CBD Offices Can Expect Solid Growth

What a difference a year can make to Office markets around Australia.

Twelve months ago, the rest of the world was anticipating double-dip recession.

And white-collar employment was looking rather fragile here in Australia — particularly for Sydney, with its high exposure to the finance industry.

Even so, Melbourne’s office leasing market remained strong throughout all of last year.
[Read more…]