October 19th REA Insights Weekly Commercial Search Report, 2020
A large surge in searches for commercial properties occurred last week on realcommercial.com.au.
The volume of for sale searches increased by 7.7 per cent last week, which was its largest weekly rise in nine weeks and took search volumes to a historic high.
For sales search volumes increased last week in all states except Australian Capital Territory (-5.1%), with the largest rises in Northern Territory (14.5%) and New South Wales (7.9%).
Searches for properties for sale are at a historic high in Northern Territory, while they are furthest from their peak in Australian Capital Territory (-9.8%) and Tasmania (-8.3%).
The volume of for sale searches is also higher than it was a year ago across all states with the national increase a 23 per cent.
The largest year-on-year increases in for sale searches have been recorded in Northern Territory (84.2%) and Australian Capital Territory (63.1%), with the smallest increases in the largest commercial markets of Victoria (10.4%) and New South Wales (14.9%).
Commercial lease search volumes jumped by 7.2 per cent last week following falls over the previous two weeks. The weekly increase last week was the largest in nine weeks and took volumes to a level -5.1 per cent below their historic peak.
Only Victoria (-1.4%) and Tasmania (-1.1%) recorded falls in lease searches last week, while Northern Territory (21.5%) and New South Wales (17.0%) recorded the largest rises.
Compared to their historic peaks, lease searches last week were relatively close in South Australia (-2.3%) and Queensland (-4.5%) and relatively far away in Australian Capital Territory (-19.1%) and Victoria (-14.8%).
Lease search volumes last week were 29.3 per cent higher than they were at the same time last year and they were higher across all states.
The largest year-on-year increases in lease searches were recorded in Northern Territory (51%) and Tasmania (33.8%), while the smallest were in Victoria (16.9%) and Australian Capital Territory (17.1%).
On the weekend the Victorian Government announced a re-opening of commercial property inspections and I would expect that will reignite some interest in properties in Victoria over the coming weeks.
Overall I expect that search volumes will remain strong as some of the government support is being wound-down and restrictions continue to ease nationwide.
With accommodation costs one of the largest expenses for many businesses I expect that increasingly businesses will be monitoring what properties become available for sale and lease.
