Office

US build-to-rent specialist Greystar has swooped on a major site in Melbourne that can accommodate more than 700 units, with the acquisition signalling the sector will keep firing even as developers struggle to sell apartments.

Property group Dexus is backing an office recovery in the Queensland capital as it has advanced plans for a $2.1 bilion overhaul of the Eagle Street Pier and Waterfront Place precinct into a major twin tower office and leisure development.

In one of the strongest pointers to the direction of central business districts, US group Hines has swooped on a development site in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD and is planning a $1 billion-plus office scheme.

Australia’s cities are taking shape in the wake of the coronavirus crisis with capital being poured into major projects including billion dollar-plus office towers and luxury apartment projects in the heart of Sydney and Melbourne.

The property industry has called for a federal government road map to getting workers back into their CBD offices after the number of people returning stalled in the lead up to Christmas in most markets.

Conditions are positive for commercial property, but some sectors can expect a bumpy ride in the future. Here are eight predictions for 2021.

Large office blocks are showing signs of returning to pre-pandemic prices, with Intera Group buying a North Sydney block for $212 million.

More than a million commuters will be absent from CBDs across Australia’s capital cities as working from home emerges as one of the biggest social shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert believes there will be a longer-term shift to suburbia, benefiting the land estates that the country’s largest listed residential developer sells and the entire metropolitan economy, which he predicts will rise on the back of a move away from central business districts.