The private group behind ambitious plans for a $1 billion-plus World Trade Centre development in Perth has prepared updated designs focused on the Megamart site it already owns in Northbridge.
The state government has received a proposal for a $1.85 billion World Trade Centre in the Perth CBD from a Middle Eastern-backed private group that includes former Perth Airport manager Neil Kidd.
Perth's office market remains on solid footing despite a rising vacancy rate that's forecast to peak at 19 per cent in 2016, with pundits saying the state's strong economic fundamentals and a small construction pipeline past 2015 will bring balance back into the sector.
Commercial rents in the Perth CBD have been tipped to fall by 9.4 per cent over the next 12 months, with the Western Australian capital one of only two major Australian cities to experience a contraction in office rental values.
Commercial real estate agency Colliers International has tipped a wave of refurbishments or conversions in Perth's office market, as landlords in older buildings look to deal with a rising vacancy
Burswood residents who objected to Crown Resorts' planned new hotel have failed in their attempt to overturn the state government's special approval process.
Owners of older office buildings in central Perth are struggling to find tenants, with the latest Office Market Report showing a widening gap between premium buildings and the rest of the market.
Investor confidence and demand for business premises will generate opportunities in the property sector in 2014, but it won't be in the traditional high transaction area of office leasing.
