The organisation’s figures show that overall office space vacancy rates in the country’s main cities fell from ten per cent in July of last year to 9.5 per cent at the beginning of 2011.
Of the big cities assessed, including Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, the latter currently boasts the lowest vacancy rate, with net absorption in the southern city over the past year has been positive to the extent of over 100,000 sq ft.
Recent office space developments in the Docklands area of Melbourne were pointed to as examples of how good planning can bring about positive results as far as local commercial property markets are concerned.
Considering the Australian office space market as a whole, however, analysts have been keen to suggest that any positive signs noted in recent months should not be taken as a guarantee of long-term recovery.
As a statement from the PCA explained: “Demand for Australia’s office market has bounced back from the global financial crisis but a sustained recovery is contingent on greater confidence about economic growth fundamentals.”
Supplies of office space in Australia’s largest cities are believed to be “reasonably balanced” as far as the next few years are concerned, with supply to Sydney’s central business district in the medium-term described as “moderate”.
The bulk of the world’s office space development is expected to take place in various parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, China and Singapore, over the course of the next few years, according to a recent report from CB Richard Ellis.
Editor’s notes: In Q1 2023, the vacancy rate in Sydney’s CBD stood at 11.3%. The total stock in the market of all qualities was 5,283,196 square metres with 596,000 square metres under construction.
Prime gross effective rent was AUD 960 per square metre per year.
In the same period, in Canberra, the vacancy rate stood at 8.9%. The total stock in the market was 2,371,193 square metres with approximately 60,000 square metres in the pipeline.
Grade A gross face rent in Civic and Parliamentary Precinct stood at AUD 546 and 536 per square metre respectively.
In Brisbane CBD, the vacancy rate stood at 12.9%. The office stock in the market totalled 2,323,988 square metres with 89,000 square metres under construction.
Prime gross effective rents stood at AUD 485 per square metre.
In Perth’s CBD, the vacancy rate stood at 15.5%. Total stock in the Perth office market stood at 1,806,790 square metres with no new developments under construction.
Net face rent for prime office space in Perth’s CBD stood at AUD 651 per square metre per year.
And in Melbourne in Q1 2023, the vacancy rate stood at 13.8%. There was a total of 5,128,000 square metres of office space stock with 48,000 square metres of new space coming to the market within the year.
Prime face rent stood at AUD 686 per square metre per year.