Demand for office space in Hobart's CBD is growing, according to new data released by the Property Council of Australia.
The Australian Office Market Report showed Hobart CBD's office market vacancy rate was down nearly two percentage points at 4.1 per cent in January 2020, compared to 6 per cent in January 2019.
Tasmanian Executive Director of the Property Council, Brian Wightman, noted that the market has tightened significantly due to tenant demand in recent years.
"Hobart now has the highest level of net tenant demand since 2006. The Hobart office vacancy rate is also the third lowest of any capital city behind only the Melbourne CBD and Sydney CBD markets.
"All grades of office space recorded positive demand in 2019 and it's expected the market will tighten even further with no new office space due to come online after 2020 and over the medium term," Mr Wightman said.
"While this is a great vote of confidence in the Tasmanian economy, we need to start looking at how we can continue to ensure supply matches demand. We don't want a situation similar to the housing market where a lack of supply is compounding the challenges of increasing demand.
"If we put in place the right framework now, we can make sure our economy continues to grow sustainably creating jobs and opportunities for more Tasmanians. We can also capitalise on Hobart's role as a major commercial hub."
The Property Council encouraged all political parties and all levels of government to focus on initiatives which drive growth in Tasmania.
"State and local government should be encouraging investment in new office space through offering a range of incentives to develop exciting new projects which could be as simple as coordinating the raft of approvals that are required before even making a start on new office or housing developments," Mr Wightman said.
