Research

It’s been a difficult few years for the office markets in Australia. Lockdowns and working from home mandates resulted in office occupiers shutting their doors and reducing their space requirements, impacting vacancies and market fundamentals.

It’s been a busy holiday period in Australia with both domestic and international travel reaching new highs.

The student accommodation sector continued to be active during the COVID-19 period despite the closure of borders and the move to online learning.

During 2022 there was $203.8 million in caravan park sales recorded across the country, this is 30 per cent down on 2021 results albeit 42.6 per cent up on 2020 results.

The latest ABS data release on building approvals has recorded some encouraging results for commercial sectors, up 2.0 per cent in contrast to residential dwellings which have shown a 4.0 per cent decrease in terms of value, seasonally adjusted.

In 2022 we saw Australian commercial sales transaction levels decline as interest rates increased, seeing a number of buyers exit the marketplace.

Top commercial property predictions for 2023

During 2022 we have seen volumes fall by 30 per cent as the steam has come out of the investor market given the growing interest rate environment.

The commercial property market saw a swift slow down in transaction activity earlier this year as interest rates made their first upward movement.

Coming off a two year period of high sales volumes and compressed yields, the Australian commercial property market has already shown signs of decreased investment activity and yield correction off the back of rising interest rates.

It’s been a tough time for many tourism operators over the last few years, as we endured a prolonged period of lockdown, border closures and restrictions, for both domestic and international travellers, causing occupancy levels to plummet.

After robust levels of turnover and rapid reductions of investment yields during much of 2020 and 2021, 2022 was also trading well but encountered challenges from the first upward interest rate movement in May.