Month-In-Review-March-2015

Month in Review
March 2015
Queensland
Brisbane
Throughout 2014 economic global growth improved
slightly although it was uneven with the threat
of deflation and collapsing commodity prices.
Australia has been experiencing continued low cash
rates and subdued growth while Australian shares
underperformed. Non-mining activity improved while
the slump in mining investment and poor confidence
led to low growth which in turn saw unemployment
rise. It is likely that 2015 will see steady but uneven
global growth, low inflation and easing monetary
conditions. The main concerns to watch in 2015
include the Chinese property slump, possibility of the
Federal Reserve raising interest rates and whether
non-mining economic activity continues to increase.
The latest reserve bank cash rate cut of 25 basis
points in February 2015 lowering the official cash
rate to 2.25% has left the economy at a cross road
with a great deal of uncertainty overall, stemming
from factors such as the slowdown in mining
investment and rising unemployment.
The year ahead looks to be patchy for the Brisbane
office market, with high rental incentives expected
due to continued low demand. This will offer good
value for prospective new tenants providing for
affordable rents. Demand for office space in the
Brisbane CBD remains weak and there is a surplus of
office accommodation available.
Looking at the market in greater depth, the Brisbane
CBD office market has seen vacancies continue
to rise, increasing from 14.2% in January 2014 to
15.6% in January 2015. Although this is the highest
vacancy rate ever recorded for this market sector,
the increases seen are significantly less than in
recent times – with vacancies increasing from 9.3%
in January 2013 to 14.2% in January 2014 alone. The
Brisbane fringe office market has been more positive,
recording a slight increase in vacancies in 2014,
with vacancy rates rising from 12.5% in January
2014 to 12.8% in January 2015. With vacancy levels
remaining high across Brisbane’s CBD and CBD
fringe office markets, it has remained necessary for
lessors to offer substantial incentives in order to
attract tenants for both prime and secondary office
accommodation. On average in the Australian CBD
incentives have doubled while face rents have not
moved with premium incentives ranging between
30% and 33%. This has led to competitive effective
rents. Incentives are expected to stabilise throughout
the remainder of the year as less pressure is placed
on land lords to attract tenants.
Yields remained relatively stable in 2014, with the
prime office market reflecting yields of circa 7.5% to
8% while the secondary market reflected yields circa
8.5% to 9%. The Brisbane CBD yields are expected
to remain relatively stable through 2015, maintaining
the disparity between prime and secondary assets,
noting that a softening of secondary yields may
occur in light of increasing vacancy rates. The prime
assets within the Brisbane fringe are currently
reflecting softer yields circa 8.5% with secondary
stock reflecting rates of circa 9.5%. The six months
to January 2015 saw 3,613 square metres of new
stock added to the Brisbane CBD office space, with
8,910 square metres of stock being withdrawn in the
same period. The same period saw 34,084 square
metres of new stock added to the Brisbane CBD
fringe office and 8,394 square metres of stock being
withdrawn, resulting in a net increase of 25,690
square metres.
The Brisbane CBD property market is undergoing
transformation with significant residential
development activity underway. One million square
metres of construction is expected over the next five
Commercial
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