The Property Council's Queensland Executive Director Jess Caire explained that the uptick in vacancy was due to the newly built 205 North Quay building coming online, while noting Brisbane's CBD vacancy rate remained the lowest of any major city.
"Brisbane's CBD has again recorded the highest level of demand of any office market in Australia at nearly three times our historical average, showing that businesses want to base themselves here and capital wants to invest," Ms Caire said.
"This demand is not isolated to the CBD, with Brisbane's fringe office market recording a vacancy rate of 10.5 per cent having consistently decreased in recent years."
Ms Caire said the very low vacancy rates among premium office grades also told an important story, highlighting the need for more premium office space to accommodate Brisbane's future economic growth at a time of significant opportunity.
"Once again, the data reinforces that businesses want to invest in quality spaces for their workforce, with Premium and A Grade space recording the lowest vacancy levels," she said.
"Brisbane's office market is well positioned in the short to medium term with marquee projects such as 360 Queen Street and Waterfront Brisbane set to be completed.
"However, the development pipeline after 2028 remains precarious with little certainty around new projects on the horizon.
"Given their size and scale, new office developments are particularly exposed to the headwinds challenging the construction market, with large office buildings taking a minimum of six to seven years to plan, design and build.
"This means there is a real risk that Brisbane's development pipeline may dry up right as demand picks up leading up to the Olympics.
"As a city we must keep our eyes on the prize and ensure industry and government are aligned and focused on the measures needed to get new projects out of the ground," Ms Caire said.
