- National sublease space up by 3%
- Currently sitting at 255,000 sqm, up by 7,000 sqm
- Total stock of national sublease space remained 40% below the early 2021 peak
Cost containment in the information, media and technology (IMT) sector has been noted as the main driver behind a recent uptick in Australia’s supply of office subleasing space in early 2023.
CBRE’s latest Sublease Barometer has found that Australia’s sublease space has risen by 3% to 255,000 square metres, with the IMT sector accounting for a substantial proportion of the 7,000 square metre increase.
CBRE’s Australian Head of Office Research Tom Broderick noted, “The IMT sector has recorded the largest increase in sublease availability over the past 12 months, partly due to recent cost cutting in the sector, particularly as it relates to headcount reductions. IMT firms have also been more likely to adopt hybrid working and therefore may still be offloading excess space.”
Finance and insurance showed stability over the past twelve months with respect to subleasing, with the data showing that professional services firms have accounted for a smaller proportion of sublease availability – particularly law firms, which are offering 40% less space.
CBRE’s Pacific Head of Office Leasing Mark Curtain said the total stock of national sublease space remained 40% below the early 2021 peak, with the only slight, city-based increases occurring in Sydney and Melbourne.
“These markets are more exposed to the financial and tech sectors, which have been experiencing cost containment pressures in the current environment. Australia’s smaller CBD markets have meanwhile recorded higher physical occupancy levels throughout 2022, which has put less pressure on tenants to offload space,” Mr Curtain said.
Sublease rise also driven by the big cities
Melbourne and Sydney have also been partly behind the uptick in sublease space, with the former recording the largest increase in sublease availability this year to 122,000 square metres, representing 2.4% of the city’s total office stock. That figure is up 0.2 percentage points from a year ago, but far behind the 4%, 171,000 square metre peak in late 2020.
CBRE’s data showed that the Sydney CBD currently has 104,000 square metres of sublease space available – representing 2.0% of the city’s office stock, down from the late 2020 peak which was 3.4% of total stock.
Brisbane’s CBD has recorded the largest drop in sublease availability over the past 12 months, from 0.9% to 0.5% of total office stock.
Sublease availability by market
