A fall in demand for office space on the Gold Coast has seen vacancy rates increase across the city over the final half of 2019.
The Property Council of Australia's latest Office Market Report, released today, shows that over the first six months of 2019, Gold Coast office vacancy rose from 11.6 to 12.9 percent due to reduced tenant demand.
"While Gold Coast's vacancy rate has been largely stable over recent years, the fall in office demand over the first six months of this year should be a cause for concern," Queensland Executive Director of the Property Council, Chris Mountford, said.
"We've witnessed a fairly consistent increase in vacancy levels on the Gold Coast across all office grades and in nearly all locations, with only B Grade building recording a modest decrease in vacancy."
"While we are a long way from the 20%+ vacancy experienced on the Gold Coast in the first half of this decade, any increase in vacancy is unwelcome news of the city's economy,"
The decline in the city's demand for office space is in contrast to increases in demand for space in the Brisbane CBD and Brisbane Fringe office markets, which both recorded healthy decreases in vacancy over the first half of 2019.
"Unfortunately, the Government's decision to dramatically increase land tax in the recent State Budget sends the wrong message at the wrong time."
"Overseas investors play a critical role in the development of new office projects on the Gold Coast."
"Targeting these investors with astronomical tax increases will only result in higher rents for Queensland businesses, and a slowing of the market's momentum."
The Property Council is engaging with the Queensland Government to influence the final structure of the new 2% foreign land tax surcharge.
