Region. Rent rises in outer and middle-rings

The NSW Department of Housing Rent and Sales report showed median weekly rents on rental properties in the middle ring (which includes Parramatta) and the outer ring (which includes the Blue Mountains) saw an increase of $10 over the quarter to $360 and $300 respectively. Parramatta is a rental hot spot for two-bedroom separate houses, with an annual rent rise of 19.6 per cent.

Lower rents attract tenants to Parramatta CBD

Corporate and government tenants were attracted to Parramatta CBD’s lower rents, which are about half that of the Sydney CBD, said a report in The Australian Financial Review. The administrative, professional and managerial workforce within 15 kilometres of Parramatta’s CBD was, on average, 34 per cent higher in number than in the same space from Sydney’s CBD.

Gross face rents increase across the board

Gross face rents increased across prime and secondary office stock in the Parramatta CBD, in the 12 months to March 2008, according to Knight Frank research. Prime rents were up 2.9 per cent to an average of $390 per square metres and secondary rents increased to average $330 per square metre. Incentive levels remained static over the past year, continuing to average 15 per cent-20 per cent. The Parramatta office market comprises 648,122 sq m of office stock. According to the Property Council of Australia, Parramatta’s vacancy rate decreased from 8.8 per cent, in January 2007, to 7.4 per cent, in January 2008. Total vacancy now sits 150 basis points below the markets 15-year historical average.