Commercial Confidential: Brisbane property, leasing news and gossip
AS the Sydney and Melbourne markets go flat, some property professionals are going against the data and touting a Queensland region thought to be at rock bottom as the next big thing.
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AS the Sydney and Melbourne markets go flat, some property professionals are touting Central Queensland as the next big thing despite some of the data saying things are not so rosy.
Using the idea of what goes down ... must go up at some stage RiskWise Property Research chief executive Doron Peleg says the research house has received a number of inquiries about Central Queensland as an investment alternative to the major East Coast hubs.
“Central Queensland is attracting a new wave of attention because many investors believe this property market has hit rock bottom and that the only way is up,” he said.
However, he said the economy of Central Queensland had been in decline “at an alarming rate” since the end of the mining boom.
“This is followed by negative capital growth of, on average, (-17.5 per cent) for houses and (-18.7 per cent) for units in the past five years,” Mr Peleg said..
“Some areas, such as Gladstone — Biloela experienced even more severe price reductions, with (-28.7 per cent) negative growth for houses and (-39.9 per cent) for units in the past five years, including -7.3 per cent and -10.4 per cent in the past 12 months, for houses and units, respectively.
“So, it’s no surprise many believe strong capital growth will follow.”
TRIO JOINS BIG-NAME OFFICE LEASING FIRM
CUSHMAN & Wakefield will become a bigger presence in the Brisbane office leasing market after convincing three Savills’ agents to join the agency.
Peter Dodd, Billy Miller and Coen Riddle have joined the growing agency with Dodd to become Cushman’s head of office leasing in Brisbane.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Queensland managing director Glen Wright, said: “These strategic hires almost double our existing office leasing footprint and sharpen our focus on the CBD office market, at a time when we are seeing continued improvements to leasing conditions, particularly for prime space.”
Cushman & Wakefield chief executive, Australia and New Zealand, James Patterson said the new team will significantly boost the agency’s national office leasing platform, and follows the expansion of the Sydney and Melbourne leasing teams over the past 18 months.
“We are now focused on Brisbane, and are seeking to replicate our success in other east coast markets,” he said.
“In their first full year of operating as a team, 2017 saw the nine agents in the Sydney office leasing team transact 106,000sq m across 153 deals.
“Similarly, the Melbourne office leasing team doubled in size following some major appointments and transactions.”
AURIZON SECURES SLICE OF THE VALLEY
WE hear listed freight train and rail company Aurizon has picked up a large slice of office space in Fortitude Valley while at the same time offering the top five floors of its new head office for sublease.
It’s understood Aurizon has secured 3500sq m of space at 100 Brookes St in a deal struck believed to be struck by CBRE.
The company is hawking around 7500sq m of space at its soon to be opened 15-level head office at 900 Ann St.
A couple of years ago Aurizon was all about centralising its office space but it seems to have gone the other way.
Earlier this year a spokesman said Aurizon will “over coming years ... have a smaller head office in Brisbane as more roles are moved to regional locations”.
“As a result, we have reassessed our requirements so that we have a more flexible, cost-effective accommodation solution,” he had said.
CBRE BUYS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FIRM
CBRE has expanded its services with the purchase of retail leasing and property management firm Race Property.
Focused on Queensland and northern NSW, Race Property will be integrated within CBRE’s existing asset services and retail leasing business lines and the combined operation will employ more than 130 staff.
Ray Pittman, president and chief executive of CBRE’s Australian & New Zealand operations, said the acquisition reflected the property group’s continued focus on the growth of its retail platform and ongoing strategy to diversify into new growth areas.
“We will now be able to provide a more specialised and first-class offering to our clients across the Pacific region, building on Race Property’s reputation and track record as a market leader in retail services,” he said.
Race Property’s co-directors Graeme Wakefield and Megan Wakefield will assume responsibility for CBRE retail asset services and CBRE retail leasing operations.
The firm has more than 190,000sq m of property under management in Queensland and Northern NSW, with clients including ISPT, SCA, Rockworth, Coles and Fabcot.
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