Perth and Brisbane office markets in dangerous space: GPT boss

Perth and Brisbane office markets in dangerous space: GPT boss
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Michael Cameron, the GPT chief executive, has warned the office markets in Perth and Brisbane are moving into a "dangerous area".

"I think there is a sufficient oversupply of money looking for investment into Australia, and investment into Australian real estate, that some of the underlying problems associated with the demand from the resources sector are being overlooked," Michael Cameron told BOSS Magazine, the AFR publication.

"There's the potential for a continual level of overheating,"  he warned, followed by a "dramatic slowdown" in Perth and Brisbane. 

With the end of the resources investment boom, office vacancies in Perth and Brisbane have soared and rents weakened. At 1 January, nearly 15% of Perth CBD offices were empty and in Brisbane over 15%, according to the Property Council. 

Last month the Reserve Bank of Australia warned the risk in the commercial property sector had increased.

Cameron noted commercial property rents had dropped 30% in Perth in the past year compared with a 3% rise in Sydney and Melbourne.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.
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