Buying Offices Requires You To Understand The Local Markets

Suburnban Offices are in DemandNOT THAT long ago, the Office market as a whole was progressing well … right around Australia.

However, following the GFC, each local suburban market has been recovering at a different pace.

Perth rebounded rather dramatically, once the mining sector started to pick up again. And yet it has suddenly plateaued, while mining currently takes a breather. [Read more…]

Commercial Property: Where Should You Invest, Right Now?

PCA Office Survey provides a snapshotEVERY SIX MONTHS, the Property Council of Australia (PCA) conducts a nation-wide survey on the state of the Office market around the country.

The accompanying graph will give you a quick snapshot of where things currently stand.

However, even the Commercial property market has been subject to the influences of the much talked about “2-speed economy”. [Read more…]

City Office Markets Starting To Reclaim Their Pre-GFC Values

Office Values heading back to pre-GFC LevelsIT HAS TAKEN almost 4 years … but 2012 should see the prime Office markets in Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide expunge the capital value lost through the GFC — according to CBRE research.

In turn, this will impact upon their suburban Office markets as well.

But it might take until 2016 before Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra are able to recoup that same lost ground. [Read more…]

Industrial Property Is Clearly Holding Its Own

Industrial Rentals set to rise, and Selling Yields will begin to firm.Vacancy rates for Industrial property have fallen dramatically over the past year — declining by 39% on average, across the country.

This is mainly the result of strong demand for warehousing, following the high Australian dollar.

Plus, there has only been a modest amount of new construction. And that means you should see rentals improve and selling yields start to firm. [Read more…]

Is the Mining Boom Causing a Surge in New Cafes?

New Restaurants & Cafes are emerging everywhereFOR SOME time now, the RBA has been as assuring us of the flow-on benefits soon to reach the non-mining states of Victoria and New South Wales.

However, these benefits may not be very easy to recognise. And so, let’s attempt to make things a little clearer. [Read more…]

Is The Mining Boom Masking a Major Problem for Commercial Property in Queensland and WA?

Queensland & WA will have the greatest amount of Distressed PropertyTHIS RATHER pressing issue appears to be receiving little or no coverage at all.

But if you listen to the insolvency firms, Western Australia is about to become the “hot spot” for distressed property.

And as you can see from the chart, Queensland well and truly holds the the crown at the moment. [Read more…]

Commercial Property: The Suburban Office Market

The Suburban Office market is currently your best choiceRIGHT NOW, the Sydney suburban market is trending sideways. And that’s rather good news, because the general consensus was it was about to slump.

While its vacancy rate sits at 9.6%, there is little new space coming onto the market over the next couple of years. [Read more…]

National Office Market Shows Steady Improvement

LAST WEEK, the Property Council of Australia released its Office Space survey, for the 6 months to January 2012. And this will have some interesting implications for the Commercial property market.

National Vacancy Rates have fallen over the past 6 monthsAcross the 26 markets depicted in this chart … demand was up 20% up and supply 30% down, on the 20-year average for the six-monthly period.

As you can see, total vacancies fell from 9.0% to 7.9% — the lowest since January 2009. And perhaps a quick summary of the CBD Office markets would be worthwhile. [Read more…]

Commercial Property: What Makes for a Balanced Office Market?

EVERY capital city has both a CBD and suburban Office market. And as you can appreciate, keeping tabs on all the various suburban markets is almost an impossible task for most investors.

But generally speaking, the health (or otherwise) of the CBD Office markets within each capital city will provide you with a fairly good gauge of the overall Office scene around Australia.

Accordingly, this graph will provide you with a clear picture of what has occurred over the past 4 years.

As a rule of thumb, Office markets are said to the “in balance”, when their Vacancy Rate lies between 5% and 7%. [Read more…]

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…]