CBRE earnings buoyed by industrial boom, office leasing
Commercial real estate agency CBRE clocked up a 43 per cent lift in revenue over the September quarter year-on-year in its Pacific arm, which takes in Australia and New Zealand, as leasing activity improved in its office business especially.
It was the office sector which was particularly hard hit a year earlier during the depths of the pandemic disruption, noted Phil Rowland, chief executive for CBRE Advisory Services’ Pacific division.
“The Sydney market has demonstrated a particularly high level of resilience, with occupiers, clearly looking through the present challenges and focusing on their medium to long-term office accommodation strategies,” he said.
Enquiry volumes for office space are at their highest level since 2017, while sublease availability in Sydney has declined sharply, by 21 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
CBRE reported its global results for the third quarter last week, with net income up 137 per cent to $US436 million ($581 million) with a recovery in capital markets activity accompanied by a revival in leasing.
Locally, the momentum in the industrial and logistics sector played well for CBRE, which benefited from both strong occupier and investor activity driving growth in all parts of our business.
“Our research shows that I&L occupier take-up in Australia in the first three quarters of 2021 was up by nearly 900,000 square metres compared to the same point in 2020, which had been a record,” Mr Rowland said.
“The continued rise in e-commerce and associated transport and logistics activity is playing a key role in driving robust demand.”
The housing market boom was another driver for CBRE’s local earnings, generating plenty of work for its valuations and advisory services business as well as high sales rates for its residential projects team working on new developments.
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