Morning Briefing: Commercial real estate proving a popular choice for foreign buyers

It appears Australian real estate of all shapes and sizes is popular with offshore buyers... Seasonal trends push national vacancy rate up...

Commercial real estate proving a popular choice for foreign buyers
While much of the recent focus on foreign real estate investors has been on their activity in the residential sector, it appears Australian real estate of all shapes and sizes is popular with offshore buyers.

According to figures from real estate services firm CBRE, the sale of office, industrial and retail property valued at over $5 million totalled $28.4 billion through the 2015 calendar year.

That figure was just 4% shy of the record $29.6 billion tally set in 2014, with demand from foreign investors helping to drive the high level of sales.

“Rising volumes of offshore investment reflect the relative attractiveness of Australia’s commercial property yields in a period when interest rates have been close to 2% points above major developed markets globally,” CBRE’s Australian research head Stephen McNabb said.

“The level of activity is also consistent with the trend towards globalisation and diversification.  As a result of this, Australian investors are also beginning to export more capital offshore and we may see more of this in 2016, particularly as interest rates rise in overseas markets,” McNabb said.

According to CBRE’s analysis, offshore investors accounted for $11.7 billion, or 41% of the total commercial sales - the highest market share for foreign investors on record.

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Seasonal trends push national vacancy rate up
Australia’s national vacancy rate recorded a jump over December, with seasonal trends to thank, according to a report released yesterday.

The figures from SQM research have revealed there were 81,401 vacancies in Australia over December, putting the national vacancy rate at 2.7%

That figure is up from the 2.3% recorded during November; however it is relatively similar to the 2.6% recorded in December 2014.

The December increase in the national rate was felt across the country, with vacancies rising in every capital city over the month.

The largest monthly increases were seen in Sydney, Darwin and Melbourne, with vacancies rising in the three cities by 0.4%.

Vacancies rose by 0.3% in Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane during December.

While there are some seasonal factors at play in the latest figures, the report from SQM Research also says vacancies do appear to be trending up.

“While there is seasonality in these readings, it’s clear that the trend for vacancies is still on the rise,” the report said.

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