AICC property lunch: rental market hit by student exodus
Mr Quinn, founder of fund manager Quintessential Equity, said he was absolutely sure people would return and inhabit office buildings, which would be better designed in the future. He added that a fall in office values would create buying opportunities. “There is pain and suffering coming for those who bought B Grade office buildings at $20,000 a square metre. “They need to demonstrate to the banks they can hold rents, but they can’t. It will be like trying to catch a falling knife.”
Ms Viney said the pandemic had focused attention on the design and use of office space. She said space owned by Vicinity in the Melbourne CBD had recently come back for lease, courtesy of Myer’s rationalisation. This space, she said, had drawn “amazing” levels of interest from co-working and smaller office users because there were lots escalators running through the building rather than access via lifts. “We may not even need to use a [leasing] agent,” Ms Viney said.
https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/rental-market-hit-by-student-exodus-gurner-20200525-p54w3a