March 15 REA Insights Weekly Commercial Search Report, 2021
After recovering to record highs over the start of 2021, searches to buy and lease commercial property have remained relatively steady over the past month.
Searches to buy commercial property saw just a 0.3% rise over the past week, though comparing year-on-year, volumes are up 55.9%.
This is the highest year-on-year change on record and can be attributed to the unfolding of the pandemic at this time last year.
Northern Territory saw the strongest growth in ‘For Sale’ searches over the past week (1.5%), followed by New South Wales (0.9%). Searches to buy commercial property in South Australia, in contrast, were down 6.1% over the past week, with Tasmania (-2.4%) also recording a decline.
Year-on-year, however, ‘For Sale’ search volumes were well up in every state, with the largest 12-month changes seen in Western Australia (53.5%), Queensland (52%) and South Australia (50.9%).
Searches to lease commercial property were at similar levels compared to last week, recording just a 1.2% decline. As with buyer searches, ‘For lease’ searches recorded their highest year-on-year change (up 55.6%), reflecting the impact of COVID-19 in March 2020.
Searches to lease commercial property were down week-on-week in most states, with the strongest falls seen in Tasmania (-6.8%) and South Australia (-5.9%). The Northern Territory, in contrast, again saw the strongest growth in search volumes – up 11.1% over the week.
Compared with a year ago, ‘For lease’ search volumes were up in every state, the largest rises being in Victoria (57.9%), Tasmania (49.4%) and Western Australia (47.5%).
Compared to the same period last year, when the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to develop, the commercial property sector is in a much stronger position.
Australia’s management of the virus has led to fewer restrictions, which has helped to buoy the sector and reduce uncertainty. For these reasons, search volumes are expected to remain well above last year’s levels over the next month.
