Seeds of Opportunity Emerge from the Turmoil

IT MAY SURPRISE YOU to learn that new businesses grew at a record rate during the last financial year. And that’s because COVID-19 served up a whole host of new opportunities among the economic turmoil.

Apparently, there were 365,500 new start-ups along with 277,700 established businesses closing shop – delivering a net gain of 87,800 new businesses.

As encouraging as that may sound, these newcomers will face challenges going forward – given they began in a climate of low interest rates and government support.

Nonetheless, they will clearly add to the demand for suburban office space – as workers seek to avoid the grind of a long daily commute.

Add to that the large CBD firms currently decanting whole departments out to the suburbs – to also be closer to where their employees live.

Bottom Line: Every change (however disruptive) brings with it seeds of opportunity. Sometimes these are hard to recognise – but highly profitable, for those who do.

The Retail Landscape Looking Forward

LEAVING ASIDE the effect of Covid has had on the general economy, the consequent drop in population growth and immigration will have a lasting impact upon … [Read more…]

Commercial Property Outlook

THERE HAS BEEN much talk about Commercial Property emerging post-Covid. So, let’s quickly explore just how things are likely to unfold. [Read more…]

When Buying … Why Would You Accept a Passing Yield Lower Than Market Level?

ON THE FACE OF IT … there’s no logical reason why you would.

Unless of course, you were intending to occupy the property when the current lease expires. In which case, the initial low rental is really of little (or no) importance to you. [Read more…]

Why is Everyone Surprised at Our Speedy Recovery?

IF YOU REMEMBER back to last May and June of last year, I explained that the economic decline caused by COVID was quite different from any other recessions.

What we experienced was a Medical Crisis with economic implications. As opposed to a total collapse of the Financial System – as you experienced during the GFC. [Read more…]

Retail Sector Still Struggles

ONLINE SHOPPING boomed during the lockdown. However, smaller retail outlets in strip centres and malls are actually struggling.

A recent study showed 37% of some 10,000 tenancies are run by small business owners – with just 1 to 3 outlets. And they mostly comprise food, health and beauty. [Read more…]

How Will COVID Affect CBD Office Vacancy Rates?

IN LATE JANUARY, the Property Council of Australia released its 6-monthly summary of CBD vacancy rates around Australia.

And not surprisingly, there has been an increase across the board – following a slow return of office work, as a result of COVID. [Read more…]

Looking at Commercial Property Post-COVID

CLEARLY, THE WINNER throughout 2020 has been warehousing and logistics – due to the massive surgeon online shopping, during the pandemic. And hopefully, that will eventually flow on to bricks-and-mortar retailing.

The other impact of online shopping has been the increased demand for cloud computing and information storage. And in turn, this has seen growth in demand for data centres. [Read more…]

The Rapid Recovery Should NOT Come as a Surprise

YOU MAY RECALL back in May and July, I foreshadowed a quick recovery would occur – as soon as we emerged from lockdown.

You see, what we’ve just been through, is a medical crisis with financial implications. NOT a total financial collapse – like we had during the GFC.

As such, “Demand” didn’t disappear … it simply got deferred. And you’ve already observed that with consumers now engaging in “Retail revenge” – as depicted in the graphic below (AFR, front page: 3 Dec 2020).

During the pandemic my clients seemed to fall into two camps:

  • Those who feared a total collapse, with a prolonged recovery.
  • Those who listened and saw the opportunity to secure a good property, while the market itself remained confused.

Already you are seeing eager buyers re-entering the property market (both residential and commercial) – with prices on the rise once more.

Therefore, those who did buy during the pandemic are now having their faith vindicated. And now, the strength of this renewed demand is bringing more properties onto the market.

Therein, Lies Your Next Opportunity

Not all the properties coming onto the market during November & December can be absorbed before Christmas.

Naturally, this will make those vendors somewhat unsettled – because the commercial market doesn’t officially reopen again until February/March.

So, if you are cashed up and able to move quickly … there should be a number of good choices for you early in the New Year.

Bottom Line: What I’m planning to do is compile a list of those unsold properties for my clients. And then, we’ll quietly sift through these opportunities together – to help clients secure several genuine bargains.

If that could be of interest to you … just let me know.

7 Handy Tips You Can Use in Your Next Negotiation

IN ANY NEGOTIATION there will always be times when you need to think on your feet. To help you, here are a few tips you might care to add to your Toolbox.

Tip # 1: Treat Negotiating as a Process

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How to Capture a Prospect’s Attention and Compel Them to Take Action

AS YOU ARE probably aware, the basic tools for marketing your property are the Advertisement, the Brochure and the Board.

However, do you realise these need to be treated as merely the gateway to your property’s webpage or the Information Memorandum? Their sole purpose is to capture the attention of your prospects and then compel them to seek further information.

You see, any form of Marketing is actually a 3-step process. [Read more…]