Sydney commercial property market poised for growth

By Rich Harvey, CEO, propertybuyer.com.au

While some prospective investors may have been less than thrilled with commercial property activity in Australia during the first quarter of 2014, a recent report from CBRE should put those worries at ease.

The organisation said that while commercial sales activity fell during Q1 2014, the second quarter is gearing up to be "extremely active".

"Q1 is seasonally a softer quarter for activity and hence it is more difficult to interpret trends in a market subject to large and lumpy deals," said Stephen McNabb, head of CBRE's Australian research department.

"Activity in all sectors was lower than a year ago, although office and industrial has held up better than retail. Overall quarterly volumes in Sydney and Melbourne were ahead of year ago levels, while down in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide."

In short, Sydney remains a hotspot for property of all stripes, not just residential real estate. However, the commercial market in the New South Wales capital is set to heat up even more thanks to both domestic and offshore interest.

CBRE Regional Director of Capital Markets Josh Cullen said that the "pipeline of property that is either in due diligence or being marketed at present" shows that sales volumes in Q2 will be "extremely strong".

While the industrial and retail sectors are forecast to see improvement during the second quarter, CBRE also predicts that the Sydney market will outperform others in the office sector. Vacancies in the office market are rising, but Sydney is set to only see a 1 to 2 per cent increase in vacancy over the next two to three years, putting it in a better position than other regions in the country.

However, regardless of whether you're looking to invest in residential or commercial real estate, working with the right buyers advocate can make all the difference. Not only will a buyers agent make finding commercial property easier, they can assist you with negotiating the purchase as well.