Market Insights

It has been just over a year since Australian office workers were sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, many have questioned whether they would ever go back. Workers have largely proved they can be just as productive at home, leading to the inevitable question: are the costs associated with leasing an office justifiable in a post-COVID world? New data reveals five interesting trends that hint at how the office environment will change in the future.

Local investment powerhouse QIC has sold two major retail centres for a combined $163m in recent days amid a hot market for home improvement centres.

SunSuper’s planned switch of a $1.5bn property mandate away from under-pressure manager AMP Capital could take a new twist, with the super fund in line to take an interest in the Locomotive Workshops building at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney.

The company behind a $20m bid for 15,600ha of fire-damaged forestry land on Kangaroo Island claims the site’s owner faces a $100m “black hole” if the offer is rejected.

Demand for property on realcommercial.com continues to soar as ‘For sale’ and ‘For lease’ searches reach new heights in March 2021. Demand is high and broad – all asset classes experienced a record month for …

Sales of shopping centres are picking up, with wealthy local ­investors leading the charge in buying some supermarket-based centres and increasingly larger assets that are recovering from the crisis.

Property funds manager Charter Hall has flagged a shift towards developing new office towers and industrial parks as it shrugs off the coronavirus crisis with a wave of new projects.

Scentre Group, owner of the local Westfield mall empire, has drawn fire from two major proxy houses that have recommended against its remuneration report at its ­annual general meeting to be held on Thursday.

Property major Dexus has offloaded the Gold Tower in Brisbane for $285m, with buyer Marquette Properties bullish about the city’s outlook as investors back an office recovery.