Industrial Property Set to Surge

Industrial Vacancy Rates are fallingThe Queensland economy may be slow to recover from all its natural disasters. But it’s Industrial property sector has been quick out of the blocks.

The boom in Queensland gas now has Brisbane with the lowest vacancy rate for Industrial property.

Next comes Melbourne — with Sydney well back in 3rd place, according to a recent survey by Knight Frank.

And increasing demand will put further upwards pressure on rentals … thereby, encouraging more developers into the market. [Read more…]

Lack of Construction Underpins
Demand for Office Space

Available Full CBD Office Floors are quickly vanishingThe Commercial property market is driven mainly by supply and demand — especially Offices.

And therefore, with …

  • falling vacancies,
  • positive net absorption and
  • few new projects in the pipeline …

… this means a looming shortage of Office space around Australia — with rentals poised to rise sharply. [Read more…]

Will the RBA Cut Rates Again?

 This may well be the last Interest Rate Cut
Last week’s inflation figures were certainly much better than expected.

As such, there had been considerable political pressure placed on the RBA from by the government to cut interest rates this week.

Retailers were virtually pleading with the RBA to do so. Plus, homeowners were also looking for some relief in the run up to Christmas.

However, this is probably the last interest rate cut by the RBA for quite some time. To understand why, you need to cast your mind back to when the GFC began in 2008.

RBA has a real Dilemma going forwardAt the time, business investment was falling.

This is unlikely to occur from now on — because planned mining investment (at $430 billion) is three times greater than in 2008, representing about a third of Australian’s GDP.

And overall, Australia is said to have around $900 billion of business investment in the pipeline.

Furthermore, our main trading partner (China) is now far less dependent upon Western countries for its growth.

In 2008, China’s 12% per annum growth in GDP reflected a 3% to 4% component of exports to the West. While this year’s 9.5% growth in GDP was basically driven by domestic demand — with virtually no exports involved.

Overall, there is said to be around $900 billion of business investment in the pipeline. Add to that the improved stability of Australian banks, with their reduced offshore exposure and improved domestic deposits. Plus, an increase in the Tier 1 capital ratios.

Finally you also need to remember the RBA’s cash rate has now fallen from 7.25% in 2008 to its current level of 4.5% today.

Bottom Line: Apart from the current turmoil in Europe, Australia’s underlying fundamentals are solid. And these augur well for strong growth in Commercial property over the next 5 years.

To reduce interest rates any further would only serve to artificially inflate asset prices — rather than allow the market to grow organically … based upon genuine, sustainable demand.

 

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…]

Industrial Property
Stages a Strong Surge

The market for Industrial property in Melbourne has remained strong over the past 12 months — enjoying a solid demand from tenants, owner occupiers and potential investors alike.

According to Savills Australia, leasing activity for the twelve months to 30 June this year was up by more than 7% on the five-year average for Melbourne.

The dominant tenants clearly came from the retail and logistics sectors — with over 740,000 square metres being leased. And of that amount, just over 200,000 square metres was by way of pre-commitment.

And according to recent research by Colliers International, the current level of rentals and capital values showed increases of between 5% and 18% across the Metropolitan area, during the last financial year. [Read more…]

RBA Reprieve …
But don’t be Fooled

The RBA appears to be performing a rather fine balancing act.

Key factors affecting the RBA's future decisionsIts Board knows rising inflation is about to emerge. And this is only temporarily masked by a poor March quarter, following the nation’s flooding earlier in the year. [Read more…]

Trusted Consultants ~ Part 3
Claiming Your Full Tax Benefits

YOU WOULD no doubt be aware of the benefits of “Negative Gearing”. But most investors have a very poor understanding of how much more money Depreciation can actually put back into your pocket.

Apex Property ConsultingEven if the Commercial property you plan to purchase might not be brand-new … you are able to “up value” the various components within the building, to reflect their actual current-day value.

By doing that, you are then in a position re-depreciate them, and gain the maximum tax benefit for your bottom-line. [Read more…]

Making Sense of
The Mining Boom

Size-wise, as a proportion of Australia’s economy … Manufacturing and Mining contribute more or less the same output.

 Services rival Mining on Investment However, Mining’s investment spend is currently more than three times that being spent by the Manufacturing sector.

All the media attention has mainly been focused upon this disparity. But that doesn’t really tell you the complete story — as you can see from the first of these graphs. [Read more…]

Rates on Hold … For Now!

Inflation Watch
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank left the cash rate unchanged at 4.75%. And these graphs will help to explain their current dilemma.

For the time being, the RBA’s focus is upon “inflation excluding volatile items” — mainly because of the various natural disasters, both here and overseas. [Read more…]

Commercial Sales Gain Momentum

AuctioAuctioneer's gavelneer's gavel
Around Australia, Commercial clearance rates at auction are now about on par with Residential property — averaging at around 50%.

Victoria seems to be leading the way, with Commercial clearance rates for some types of property approaching 70%.

New South Wales is running about six months behind at? around 60%, with firming yields. And Queensland is probably a further 12 to 18 months away in its recovery. [Read more…]

Australia’s Growth to Continue

Asian exports
Late last year, Citigroup published this chart depicting Australia’s reliance upon export markets within the Asian region.

Clearly, Australia is running well ahead of other western countries, with our exports representing over 6% of GDP to emerging Asia. And this is twice the level it was just six years ago.
[Read more…]