A spike in Covid and flu cases saw the Brisbane CBD office occupancy rate plunge to 53pc in July

Thousands of office workers elected to work from home during a spike in Covid and flu cases in July leaving the Brisbane CBD barely half full, alarming new figures show.

A SPIKE in Covid-19 and flu cases over July convinced thousands of office workers to stay home rather than venture into the CBD, leaving the heart of Brisbane half empty.

The Property Council of Australia’s latest Office Occupancy Survey found occupancy in the Brisbane CBD dropped from 64 per cent in June to 53 per cent in July, its lowest rate since April.

Property Council Chief Executive Ken Morrison said the results were disappointing but

unsurprising due to the rise in case numbers.

“Office occupancy numbers have gone backwards for the first time in six months as a

wave of Omicron and flu cases kept workers away from the office,” he said.

“We have been seeing a steady increase in the number of workers returning to offices, but

this stalled in June and has now declined

“Looking ahead, we are encouraged by the fact that this Omicron wave seems to have

peaked and that spring is around the corner. Hopefully this means the recovery

momentum can resume.”

The July survey also found Melbourne’s occupancy dropped from 49 per cent to 38 per cent, Sydney from 55 to 52 per cent, and Adelaide from 71 per cent to 64 per cent.

Canberra and Perth were the only markets to record an increase in office occupancy,

from 53 to 61 per cent and 65 to 71 per cent, respectively.

An aerial view of the Brisbane city skyline.

Mr Morrison said the low levels of CBD occupancy needed to be factored in when

governments were considering measures to manage the pandemic.

“We know office occupancy has been slow to recover, unlike other indicators which snap

back quickly,” he said.

“The losers are not the office tenants or the owners of office buildings, it’s all those

retailers, cafes and restaurants who rely on office workers as their customers. We want those businesses and their jobs to survive because they give our CBDs such vibrancy.”

Despite the fall in office occupancy, last week the Brisbane CBD recorded its highest demand for office space in since 2017.

The Property Council’s mid-year Office Market Report released last week showed Brisbane CBD’s vacancy rate fell from 15.4 per cent in January 2022 to 14 per cent in July, with over 44,000sq m of net absorption over the six-month period.

Queensland executive director of the Property Council Jen Williams said historically, Brisbane’s office market experiences demand of around 9000sq m of new space every six months.

“In the global war for talent, employers are seeing the physical office as an important feature

in attracting and retaining staff. Collaboration spaces, sustainable design and touch-free

common areas are just some of the ways the office is adapting to changing market demands,” she said.