Region. Office vacancy rates

Vacancy rates in Parramatta and North Ryde are the lowest in four years, according to the Property Council of Australia’s report for the six months to July. Parramatta’s vacancy rate declined to 8.7 per cent from 9.1 per cent. A- and B- grade offices in Parramatta were tightly held by tenants, but C- and D- grade had vacancy rates above 15 per cent. Office vacancy rates in North Ryde fell to 6.7 per cent from 8.2 per cent. “Macquarie Park, Sydney’s next major CBD, was a surprise. Solid take-up, with tenants moving in from the north shore, Frenchs Forest and Gladesville, has almost halved the vacancy rate in three years,” The Australian Financial Review said.

Region. Best vacancy rates

The latest rental vacancy data released by REINSW has revealed Sydney’s best vacancy rates since August 2006. The January rental vacancy rate for the Sydney metropolitan area rose by 0.3 per cent to 1.9 per cent, the largest single increase since July 2010.

All areas of Sydney recorded increases in the percentage of rental properties available: Inner suburbs (0-10km from CBD) rose 0.2 to 1.7 per cent; Middle suburbs (10-25km from CBD) rose 0.1 to 2.1 per cent; Outer suburbs (more than 25 km from CBD) rose 0.4 to 1.8 per cent

Region. Office stock and vacancy rate

Colliers Sydney Metropolitan Office report for the second half 2011 has identified to the office stock and vacancy rate in Western Sydney’s five major office markets: North Ryde/Macquarie Park, 807,527 square metres, 9.8 per cent; Parramatta, 685,171 square metres, 9.3 per cent; Norwest, 323,864 square metres, 15.3 per cent; Rhodes, 141,467 square metres, 2.0 per cent; SydneyOlympic Park/Homebush Bay, 101,261 square metres, 0.7 per cent.

Parramatta. 'Slight increase' in vacancy

Total vacancy in the Parramatta market witnessed only a slight increase over the six months to January 2010, according to Colliers Sydney Metropolitan Office Research & Forecast Report, autumn edition. This saw total vacancy increase from 9.6 per cent in July 2009 to 9.8 per cent in January 2010. The A-grade market continued to remain tight with vacancy remaining at a historically low level of 2.4 per cent. The B-grade market was the best performing market in the Parramatta area over the second half of 2009 with vacancy declining by 3.6 per cent from 12.6 per cent in July 2009 to 9.0 per cent in January 2010.

Parramatta. Signs of life returning

Glenn Byers, executive director, Property Council NSW, said signs of life were returning to the office tenancy market in Parramatta. The vacancy rate decreased from 10.8 per cent to 9.6 per cent in the six months to January 2011, with the decrease due solely to positive demand, with net absorption of 8,279 square metres in the past six months. “We saw an increase in demand and a drop in vacancy rates across the A Grade and B Grade markets. The opposite was true in the C and D Grade markets,” he said

North Ryde. Vacancy rate falls to 10.3 per cent

Tenant demand for quality office space in North Ryde continues to rebound and has produced a drop in the vacancy rate from 11.3 per cent to 10.3 per cent in the six months to January 2011, according to the Property Council of Australia’s latest Australian Office Market Report “A grade vacancy rates fell from 12 per cent to 9.9 per cent in the past six months, with net demand increasing to 25,986 square metres," said executive director, Glenn Byres, of the Property Council NSW

Parramatta. Office vacancy rate increases

The office vacancy rate in the Parramatta CBD increased to 10.7 per cent for the six months to July, up from 9.8 per cent in January and 9.5 per cent in July 2009. The July figure was the highest in four years, according to the Property Council of Australia. The increase was attributable to 3714 square metres of negative net absorption and additions to stock totaling 2967 square metres. Parramatta’s total office stock is 685,371 square metres

North Ryde. Office vacancy rate decreases

The office vacancy rate in North Ryde, in the six months to July, decreased to 11.3 per cent, down from 12.2 in January and 12.3 in July 2009. The decrease was despite 12,000 square metres of supply additions, according to the Property Council of Australia. Only 16,700 square metres is scheduled to enter the market in the short to medium term. North Ryde’s total office stock is 795,257 square metres.

Parramatta. Vacancy could peak at 15 per cent

Parramatta has been through as hell of a year, scarred by rising office vacancies and poor sales. And next year offers little hope of respite for investors, except for one mitigating factor: a scarcity of new developments, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Vacancies peaked at 10.3 in July 2006 and fell to 7.3 per cent in the first half of this year but is expected to rise by 2012-13. As Parramatta office market enters a new supply cycle from January 2011, vacancy is forecast to increase, peaking at almost 15 per cent by the end of 2012-13,” said LandMark White.