Gold Coast property: When new officers will finally open

The Gold Coast, with office vacancies at record lows, will not see any new space delivered for a surprisingly long time, says a new report.

The Gold Coast, with office vacancies at record lows, will not see any new space delivered until 2027, says a new report.

The Colliers Market Overview report says the only fresh stock will be offices in a Southport building which is being refurbished.

It links the construction lull to challenges such as elevated building costs, labour shortages, and increased borrowing costs.

Colliers’ Gold Coast director, Steven King, says the only project in 2024 is the refurbishment of a five-level office building at 33 Scarborough Street, Southport, which will have 2755 sqm of space.

“Beyond that, no new developments are expected until 2027 when the twin-tower V & A Broadbeach is anticipated to be completed.

“That project will include 5000 sqm of offices.

The fourth Acuity building at Robina is on hold while tenants are being sought

“Other proposed projects, including 5192 sqm in building four at Acuity Business Park at Robina, remain on hold until precommitment levels are achieved.”

Mr King says that limited land in core precincts and the cost of land meant future office supply was expected to come from outside the core areas, like in the M1 corridor.

The Colliers Market Review says rents for A-grade office space have risen by 7 per cent over 12 months, hitting $542 a square metre by last month.

Rents for secondary stock were up 15 per cent, reaching $491 a square metre.

Colliers Gold Coast director Steven King.

The Colliers report says tenant demand remains strong but, with a supply-demand imbalance, further increases in rental rates are likely.

Meanwhile, Broadbeach is rated the tightest office-supply market on the Gold Coast.

Market View says the vacancy rate of 3.7 per cent is half what it was in July 2023.

Surfers Paradise, which had the highest vacancy rate on the Gold Coast, saw its 8 per cent level of empty space fall to 7.4 per cent.

This was influenced by the leasing of space which had been refurbished to high specifications, a take-up which illustrated a flight-to-quality trend.

Market View says that despite a general dip in office sales around the country, the value of Gold Coast sales moved from $103 million in 2022 to $160 million in 2023.

Institutions were expected to show heightened interest in the city’s market this year.