Brisbane’s inner-city office space is in high demand with vacancy rates the lowest in more than 10 years.
The latest Property Council’s Office Market Report shows over the six months to July, the CBD vacancy rate dropped from 11.7 percent to 9.5 percent, the lowest level since 2013.
Queensland Executive Director of the Property Council Jess Caire said the drop in vacancy was due to strong demand, with 26,552sqm of net absorption, as well as 40,338sqm of office stock being withdrawn from the market.
Ms Caire said the results underlined strong demand and interest in Brisbane from businesses and investors.
“The fact that 2024 Brisbane office vacancy would be at its lowest level in over 10 years would have been unthinkable in midst of the pandemic when many businesses were questioning whether they even needed a workspace,” Ms Caire said.
She said Brisbane and south-east Queensland had the lowest office vacancy rates in the country.
“Demand is not isolated to Brisbane’s CBD – the fringe markets also performed remarkably well with the overall vacancy rate for the fringe dropping from 13.9 to 12 percent over the last six months.
“However, as we all know strong demand can present its own challenges if not managed correctly.”
Ms Caire said there were shortages across all property sectors including housing, industrial property and health infrastructure.
“All of these shortages are driven by the same unhealthy recipe – runaway demand combined with policy and planning settings not agile and responsive enough to keep pace with growth.”
