Dexus Office Demand Barometer

Conditions for office demand remain resilient in the face of global uncertainty

The Barometer uses lead indicators to assess the expected strength of leasing demand for office space in Sydney CBD.

The Dexus Office Demand Barometer registered 2.4% in the March 2018 quarter, remaining in ‘good’ territory despite global uncertainty.

Conditions for office demand remain resilient despite uncertain global conditions and volatility in the share market.

Companies are giving greater weight to the positive conditions in Australia and New South Wales than to the negative global factors when it comes to leasing decisions.

A solid uplift in job advertisements kept the barometer elevated, with a significant proportion of these listings being for white collar jobs, which bodes well for office demand.

Growth in NSW continues to be supported by an unprecedented amount of infrastructure investment, with $81.5 billion to be spent on transport and infrastructure over the next four years.

Leasing enquiries, typically subdued for the December to March period, have been stronger than normal.

However, despite the positive business conditions, actual take-up of space has been constrained due to a growing shortage of space.

The availability of vacant space in the CBD is at 5.5%, the lowest it has been for 17 years.

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