Office

Sydney office occupancy levels plunged in July as lockdowns hit, but it’s Melbourne’s slow recovery that has landlords worried.

A sale of a stake in the prime office complex would set fresh benchmarks as activity picks up and office values rise.

There is more empty space in office towers but landlords are confident that demand will recover as vaccines are rolled out, with small tenants to drive the comeback.

A central Geelong development site has hit the market offering permit-approved plans for a 15-floor office building.

The number of jobs offering remote work is on the rise, allowing many Australians’ considering moving to the beach or bush to keep pushing up regional property prices.

A property with its own lake and restaurants is awaiting a $19m sale that will reset the suburb’s record books.

Dexus has swung back to offices with a $1.4bn deal to develop tech giant Atlassian’s 40-storey hybrid timber HQ in Sydney.

The office sector has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19. Vacancy has risen, rents have fallen, and occupancy rates remain well below their pre-pandemic levels. While the challenges faced by other sectors were known to be largely temporary, the pandemic has rewritten the way people work, leading inevitably to the question: will COVID-19 spell death to the office?

Property mega deals are back. The commercial property market has come through the pandemic with wheeling and dealing back in vogue even in virtual meeting rooms. Australia’s commercial property market has more than survived the searing worst of the pandemic and close to $17bn worth of assets traded in a busy first half.