This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE suburban office market in South East Queensland ended 2020 feeling confidant and its optimism for 2021 has only grown.
According to Graystone’s South East Queensland Urban Precincts Report, which examined the group’s quarterly survey, for Q4 2020, results confidence is up in the sector and many have plans to expand their workforce.
The survey looked at three South East Queensland business technology precincts, Brisbane Technology Park in Eight Mile Plans, Westlink Green in Darra, and Northshore Hamilton.
“The sentiment in the suburbs could not be more upbeat. Here, innovative businesses like AntoTech are making a significant contribution to the global health response to COVID-19, while other companies are driving innovation in mining, technology and various service industries,” said Kirsty Heymink, director of developments and property management at Graystone.
Of these three precincts 49.32% reported that they planned to increase their workforce. This response was up from 43.81 in quarter three of 2020. For 2021, there was a forecast of moderate to strong growth amongst 71.23% of those surveyed.
“The sector didn’t experience the same shockwaves as their CBD counterparts during 2020 due to the flexibility and advantages of their location, as well as the niche focus of their operations, and this has resulted in a strong start to 2021,” said Heymink.
Of those surveyed, nearly 40% reported being back to full capacity in the workplace, with 48% reporting ongoing flexible arrangements between working at the office and working from home.
Notably, despite broad anxieties about the impact of the conclusion of the JobKeeper initiative, in quarter four 74% of respondents felt the January rollback, which has since passed, would have no impact on their business.
In all four surveyed segments, there was an uplift in confidence, with an average of 49.3% in business confidence, 53.4% for employment growth, 50% for profitability and 45.2% for retail performance.
“As an asset manager and owner, we are seeing this confidence translate into increased leasing enquiry from new tenants and expansions to existing tenancies.
“We are also exploring ways to support and contribute to the confidence and business growth within our precincts by introducing facilitated networking opportunities and industry-specific events,” concluded Heymink.
