Queensland's commercial real estate industry rides the resource wave
The ongoing resource boom is having a substantial knock-on effect to the commercial property market, with prime office space suddenly in demand in the sunshine state.
According to the executive director of the Queensland division of the Property Council of Australia (PCA) Kathy McDermott, the vacancy rate has undergone a substantial shift from a massive 15-year high of 11.3 per cent down to a respectable 7.4 per cent in just 18 months.
McDermott said: "In the six months to July, we saw the take-up rate in Brisbane's CBD running at more than triple the 20-year average."
The change comes as a result of increased operations from mining and resource companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton - with more workers required to handle the increased administrative detail.
It is easy to see how large companies such as these would also require additional professionals such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and other service providers - all of which would want to be geographically close to their new clients.
Because commercial property can play such an important role in determining the success of a business, the decrease in vacancy in a city where business is booming is understandable.
