June 28 REA Insights Weekly Commercial Search Report, 2021

Searches to buy and lease commercial property increased across almost all states and territories last week.

The volume of searches to buy commercial property increased by 1.3% last week, after a fall in searches the week prior. ‘For sale’ searches are now 25.2% higher than what they were last year. However, with Sydney now in lockdown it will be interesting to see whether the trend for New South Wales shifts in coming weeks.

All states saw positive week-on-week change last week, with the exception of Northern Territory, which recorded a 5.2% drop. The largest growth was recorded in the Australian Capital Territory (12.8%), followed closely by Tasmania (11.8%).

The large increase in search volumes last week are also reflected in the year-on-year increases across all states and territories. Most notable is the 35.2% growth annual recorded in South Australia and the 30% growth in Queensland. The Australian Capital Territory (27.6%) and Victoria (21.4%) also recorded strong year-on-year results.

Searches to lease commercial property increased by an even larger amount last week, recording a 4.3% national increase compared to the week prior. Compared to the same time last year, lease searches are 4% higher.

Northern Territory and South Australia recorded the largest week-on-week growth, 13.3% and 13.2% respectively, while Tasmania recorded the smallest growth of the states (3%).

Compared to the same time last year, the Australian Capital Territory is the strongest performer, recording a 24.2% annual increase in activity. Annual declines have been recorded in Tasmania (-12.9%), New South Wales (-4.4%) and Victoria (-2.5%).

Next week we will be able to see the impact of the Sydney lockdown on search activity in New South Wales. It will also be interesting to see whether the shutdown period has any ripple effects for the other states.