Chart of the day: CBD Grade A rents rises by 1.6% in Q2

Vacancy rates to tighten to 4%, an analyst said.

This chart from Cushman & Wakefield shows the fluctuation of the price of rents in the central business district’s Grade A office market, which saw a slight uptick of 1.6% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.

It also shows the vacancy rate rising to 5.1% from 4.6% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022. This was due to a lag between relocations and lease negotiations, but this is expected to come down in the third quarter, according to Mark Lampard, Head of Regional Tenant Representation at Cushman & Wakefield. Decentralised offices also rose by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter growth in Q2 2022 as vacancy rates tightened to 5.3% from 5.6% in Q1 2022.

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“We expect CBD Grade A office vacancy rates to tighten towards 4% and rents to grow 5.4% for the whole of 2022 due to new demand from wealth and management firms, coupled with continued demand to return to the office. Decentralised offices are also expected to see higher demand as cost-conscious tenants move towards lower-cost options outside of the CBD, and rents are expected to increase by 3.2% YoY,” Lampard said.