Market reports

The vacancy rate of Melbourne's CBD office buildings remains historically high, with the pace of workers returning to the office continuing to lag behind other Australian capital cities.

The Sydney CBD office market has seen vacancy rates rise to 13.7%, up from 12.6% in January 2025, and still sitting above the 10-year average. The increase is largely driven by new supply, with over 72,500 sqm added to the market in the first half of 2025.

The July 2025 CommSec State of the States report confirms Western Australia’s position as the nation’s economic frontrunner, leading in retail spending, housing finance, and equipment investment. While annual population growth has eased over the past two quarters, it remains the strongest in absolute terms nationally at 2.39%, continuing to underpin long‑term demand fundamentals.

Brisbane’s CBD vacancy rate remains comparatively low at 10.7%, outperforming other CBD office markets nationally, though this represents a 0.5% increase since January 2025. The market’s resilience continues to be underpinned by strong demand for primegrade office space.

Continued strong net absorption of over 22,000 sqm in the first half of 2025 has further reduced the total vacancy rate in the Adelaide CBD to 15.0%, down from 16.4% in July 2024. Prime-grade vacancy has fallen sharply over the past six months, from 18.1% to 15.1%, despite only 911 sqm of new supply coming to market.

The vacancy rate of Melbourne's CBD office buildings remains historically high, and workers' return to the office continues to lag other capital cities. The underlying picture is, however, more complex. Vacancy levels of prime-grade assets where landlords have invested in building amenities and services in sought-after locations, such as the Eastern core, are much lower than the vacancy levels of ageing buildings in less sought-after precincts. This gap is widening even further when considering sub-markets such as Docklands, Southbank and St Kilda Road.

The Sydney CBD office market has experienced an increase in overall vacancy rates, now up at 12.8% from 11.6% in July 24, which remains above the 10-year average.

In the latest Commsec’s State of The States Report April 2025 Western Australia is the top economic performer in the country. WA leads in Retail Spending, Employment Growth, Population Growth, Housing Finance and Dwelling Starts and also leads in New Car Sales according to the CBA report.