LAST year’s gloomy Perth office vacancy forecast is expected to be turned on its head when the Property Council releases the first 2004 office vacancy figures.
Last year it was forecast that the overall Perth vacancy level could reach around 17 per cent, 13 per cent in the premium sector and could spike as high as 24 per cent at the A-grade end.
Nearly seven months on and the leasing market is markedly more confident about the soon-to-be-released vacancy figures that are widely tipped to decrease in the CBD and West Perth.
This is partly due to the new Woodside building not being completed on time.
However, prospective tenants are negotiating for the bulk of Woodside’s soon to be vacated headquarters at 1 Adelaide Terrace – a positive sign for Perth’s office vacancy rate.
Industry sources say it is likely the State Government will take 15,000 square metres of office space in the building for its special service units.
The Government is also considering the Seven Oaks building in Cannington.
A decision on the final location of the special services units is expected by the end of February.
Engineering firms Lycopodium and Fleur, BHP and Centrelink are among the prospective tenants also considering tenancy in 1 Adelaide Terrace.
Engineering firm Hatch, which has expanded its project space thanks to the resources boom, has picked up a 1,600sq m tenancy at 108 Stirling Street.
The former AMP building at 140 St Georges Terrace has continued its run of success. It is understood the National Australia Bank is negotiating on an 8,000sq m tenancy with signage rights.
Last year 140 St Georges Terrace attracted a growing list of tenants, including Jackson McDonald, Iluka Resources and Servcorp – leasing more than 40 per cent of its space in a five-month period.
CB Richard Ellis commercial leasing director Andrew Denny said there were a lot more tenants in the market and that over the next few months a significant number of deals would be signed off.
He said the vacancy figures for January 1 would not reflect deals done in December and January but he expected they would show improvement and not be anywhere near last year’s forecasts.
Jones Lang Lasalle leasing manager Nick Van Helden said leasing activity had greatly increased in the January period, particularly in West Perth.
“He said the outlook for rents was to increase and leasing incentives to reduce.
