Office vacancies drop

WHILE other parts of Australia saw an increase in “for lease” signs in the past six months – including the largest vacancy rise on record in the Melbourne CBD – office vacancies on the Gold Coast tightened by three per cent.

The Property Council of Australia’s latest Office Market Report has revealed Australia’s aggregate vacancy rate for all office markets increased from 11.6 to 11.9 per cent for the six-month period to July 2021, while the Gold Coast’s rate decreased from 14.3 per cent to 11.3 per cent. The figures were recorded just before southeast Queensland’s snap lockdown.

Property Council Queensland executive director Jen Williams said the decrease in office vacancy showed positive sentiment in the market.

“A decrease in Gold Coast office vacancy, despite the ongoing challenges Covid-19 presents, is an indication of the positive sentiment in the Queensland market,” she said.

“Given we are in the midst of a global pandemic, 12,413 square metres of net absorption in a market the size of the Gold Coast is staggering.”

Ms Williams said the 2032 Olympics would underpin demand in coming years.

“This is the Gold Coast’s chance to attract new businesses, which will bring along with them new talent and new investment in commercial assets.

“While current lockdowns and social distancing requirements present an issue in the immediate term, it is imperative that policy makers use the global opportunity the Olympics presents to focus on delivering the next round of transport infrastructure, urban renewal and CBD revitalisation the Gold Coast needs to thrive.”

CBRE senior director of office leasing Tania Moore said she too was optimistic about the sector in the medium and long term.

“Like most regional markets, the Gold Coast has been underpinned by the resilience of SME occupiers that have been back at work at full capacity for the past 12 months,” she said. “This … resulted in the early reactivation of business centres, supporting overall business confidence, which is reflected in the reduction in vacancy.

“Over the past six months, two sectors have performed strongly; demand in fitted, sub-200 sqm options driven by the SME sector, and the aboveaverage transactional volume of 1000sq m-plus deals, which has predominantly occurred in the Robina precinct within fully-fitted and furnished callcentre-style spaces.”