Five lockdowns have fired a cannon through the Melbourne CBD’s office leasing market, with the vacancy rate hitting its highest level in more than two decades as businesses contracted.

Vacancies in the CBD increased to 10.4 per cent over the past six months, a 2 percentage point increase on the previous period, and the highest vacancy rate the city has recorded since January 2000, on the Property Council of Australia’s tally. Exacerbating the situation, Melbourne’s CBD has the highest amount of new supply coming into the market in the next six months.