August 7th REA Insights Weekly Commercial Search Report, 2020

Search volumes on realcommercial.com.au fell moderately last week.

The volume of searches for commercial properties for sale fell by -1.5 per cent last week, following a -1.5 per cent fall the previous week.

For sale search volumes at the end of last week were -5.0 per cent lower than their peak, however, they were 14.2 per cent higher than they were over the same week last year.

Western Australia (2.6%) and Tasmania (3.5%) were the only states in which search volumes rose last week, with the largest declines occurring in Australian Capital Territory (-6.9%) and Northern Territory (-3.6%).

While the overall decline in for sale searches from the peak has been moderate, Australian Capital Territory (-15.2%) and Victoria (-13.5%) have recorded the largest falls and Northern Territory (-3.6%) and New South Wales (-4.3%) the smallest.

For sale search volumes are higher than they were a year ago across all states, with the largest increases in Northern Territory (98.5%) and Australian Capital Territory (71.3%) and the smallest in Victoria (1.7%) and New South Wales (17.4%).

Lease search volumes fell for the second consecutive week last week, down -1.0 per cent following a -2.5 per cent fall the week prior. Although lease search volumes are 18.5 per cent higher year-on-year, they have fallen by -12.3 per cent from their peak.

Victoria (2.3%), Western Australia (1.9%) and Tasmania (8.7%) were the only states in which lease search volumes rose last week, while Australian Capital Territory (-10.0%) and Northern Territory (-4.2%) recorded the largest falls.

Queensland (-8.0%), Western Australia (-7.7%) and Tasmania (-9.7%) are the only states to have recorded declines in lease searches from their peak of less than 10 per cent.

Victoria (-27.8%) and Australian Capital Territory (-20.5%) have recorded the largest falls.

On a year-on-year basis, Victoria is the only state with fewer lease searches than a year ago (-4.9%).

Growth in Australian Capital Territory (2.2%) has been modest, while the largest increases have occurred in Tasmania (39.6%) and Western Australia (27.4%).

As the economic weakness drags on, particularly in Victoria, I would expect businesses will increasingly focus on saving costs with regards to their accommodation. Although search volumes have eased I expect they will remain higher than a year ago as businesses continue to closely monitor the availability of properties listed for sale and lease.