Brisbane's CBD could be set to scale new heights
The slowing in demand was the most acute in Sydney and Brisbane, above. Photo: Istock/Siegfried Schnepf

Brisbane's CBD could be set to scale new heights

Six buildings in Brisbane’s CBD have been approved by council to potentially reach the aviation-enforced 274-metre limit, which means the city centre is literally about to scale to new heights.

As fortune would have it, plans for the super residential high rises are happening at the same time as a resurgence in CBD commercial activity.

According to JLL Queensland head of office leasing Adam Barrett, seven new commercial buildings are either underway or seeking development approval in the CBD.

Mr Barrett said the new builds were a sign of renewed confidence in the central city’s commercial sector.

“It’s part of the cycle. We’ve seen it time and time again now,” he said.

Your Commercial sales and leasing director Chris McLeod said the new commercial activity was in stark contrast to years of decreased demand for new space.

The new supply could result in increased inflows of bigger multinational companies moving from Sydney and Melbourne to Brisbane, he said.

Savills Research recorded a turnaround during the first quarter of 2019 with the Brisbane CBD moving into an upswing cycle with increased leasing activity and stronger investor support.

The research found a steady start to the year with the Brisbane occupier market recording net effective rental growth of about 2 per cent emerging across varying grade quality of buildings.

“Investment activity across the first quarter was in excess of $1 billion-worth of CBD office assets transacted or formally being offered for sale with at least another $1 billion-worth of assets earmarked for sale during Q2,” Savills managing director Anthony Ott said.

“This follows on from a strong 2018, where sale volumes in the Brisbane CBD totalled circa $2.3 billion.”

According to the research, asset values of properties formally marketed in the first quarter of the year were up approximately 50 per cent on the corresponding period in 2018.

“There is positive investment sentiment given the level of activity not only in the CBD but also the fringe and suburban markets, and this is continuing to flow through in the second quarter with a number of owners positioning to divest,” Mr Ott said.

Comparative value of Brisbane assets relative to Sydney had also been a key factor in driving increased investor demand, he said.

Mr Ott said new projects and infrastructure activity such as the Cross River Rail, Brisbane Metro, Queens Wharf, the second runaway at Brisbane Airport, and the Howard Smith Wharves development would all have a positive influence on the market over the next five to 10 years.

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