Office

US group Hines is looking to stamp its authority on the local office development market and is in pole position to build a new tower in North Sydney that could be worth about $330 million.

As our cities grow, governments and planners like to provide facilities that make their cities good places to live and work. And we like to encourage workplaces close to where people live, both to reduce the transport task and to reduce travel times. Hence planning and zoning to provide sites for buildings and infrastructure to underwrite that growth.

Billionaire Queensland businessman Clive Palmer has continued his aggressive real estate acquisition spree and is expanding further into Western Australia, leasing corporate headquarters in an office tower controlled by John Bond, son of the late entrepreneur Alan Bond.

Property developer Stockland and Singapore-listed AIMS APAC REIT have locked in telco giant Optus at its Macquarie Park campus for another 12 years.

Singaporean-based funds manager ARA Asset Management is leading the pack to acquire the $350 million Victoria Place in East Melbourne office project planned in the tightly held precinct.

Singapore-based SC Capital is advancing plans to pre-sell its planned $700 million mixed-use hotel and office tower in the heart of Sydney, with the project going into exclusive due diligence.

Financial services giant Zurich Insurance’s turn as a developer has generated solid returns, with property heavyweight CBRE Global Investors swooping on its under-construction headquarters in North Sydney for about $350 million.

The residential property market might be bouncing back strongly but office landlords are still buying up sites where luxury apartments had been planned, while the pre-sale market remains flat.

“Is it too late to invest in the Sydney and Melbourne office markets? Is it too early for Brisbane and Perth?”