30 September, 2010

Commercial North Sydney wins big at national awards

Raine & Horne Commercial North Sydney’s co-principal Jay Sheffield was among the big winners at Raine & Horne’s annual National Awards conference, held at the exclusive Sanctuary Cove on the Queensland Gold Coast recently.

The high-flying North Shore-based agent was named Raine & Horne’s best commercial leasing agent based on dollar value.

Mr Sheffield said the award was a great tribute to the hard work of the Raine & Horne Commercial North Sydney team in the commercial leasing market on the Lower North Shore, which apart from North Sydney, has been relatively inconsistent in 2010.

“Over the past six months the supply of commercial properties in North Sydney has increased appreciably by 3.4%, adding 28,420sqm to its previous stock levels of 835,750sqm," Mr Sheffield said.

Significantly, he said additional supply had not augmented North Sydney’s vacancy rate significantly.

“Last January the vacancy rate in North Sydney was 11.7%, while it currently sits at 11.8%.

"At the same time, developers are continuing to add quality stock to the North Sydney streetscape, with the striking new landmark A–grade office building, Investa’s Ark, 40 Mount Street, a popular addition.

“Plans are in place for numerous new additions to the North Sydney market including office towers at 90-100 Mount Street, 77-81 Berry Street, 177-199 Pacific Highway and 80 Arthur Street,” he said.

In contrast, activity in the St Leonards and Crows Nest markets was variable in the first half of 2010, with the vacancy rate only slightly higher at 15.4%, which Mr Sheffield said was nearly in line with an increase in supply of 0.5%.

However he was confident St Leonards and Crows Nest were set for strong finishes to 2010, with the vacancy rates to be trimmed on the back of growing business demand for quality commercial properties.

Further north and Chatswood continues its ongoing rivalry with North Sydney and the North Ryde/Macquarie Park commercial precincts.

“The move by Vodafone to North Sydney created a significant vacancy in the Chatswood commercial market, but like North Sydney and St Leonards, A-grade commercial space will be of interest in coming months,” Mr Sheffield said.

	North Sydney			St Leonards / Crows Nest			Chatswood
	Jul-09	Jan-10	Jul-10	Jul-09	Jan-10	Jul-10	Jul-09	Jan-10	Jul-10
Total Stock (sqm)	835,702	835,750	864,170	369,094	367,108	369,148	283,900	283,900	283,900
Total Vacancy (sqm)	92,061	97,926	101,965	47,480	55,638	56,753	36,918	50,617	54,485
Total Vacancy Factor (%)	11.0	11.7	11.8	12.9	15.2	15.4	13.0	17.8	19.2

Source: www.propertyoz.com.au September 2010

Raine & Horne Commercial North Sydney can help you realise your commercial sales and leasing goals and can be contacted on 02 9925 1222.

Commercial North Sydney among big winners at national awards