Property Developers Wager On Return-to-office Boom
AUSTRALIA – Real estate behemoths are going ahead with AU$7.8 billion worth of commercial developments in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, reported The Australian on Thursday morning (11 November, SGT).
For instance, Charter Hall intends to construct a twin to Sydney’s Chifley Tower, showing that it’s super bullish on the post pandemic outlook of the city’s central business district (CBD).
“The Chifley twin is the biggest among several new Charter Hall projects in Sydney’s CBD, and the developer also has major works underway in Melbourne and Brisbane,” said the news outlet.
This comes as property developers are betting that employees will eventually return to their workplaces and major companies will still require good quality office space to entice staff to return.
Similarly, other major real estate developers like Stockland and Mirvac plan to build skyscrapers, but these edifices will be significantly different from the buildings constructed 1 or 2 decades ago.
Notably, builders are designating their upcoming commercial properties to be more experiential and come with facilities like cafes, gyms, beauty salons, and other attractive amenities in a bid woo staff.
The prospects of these office buildings look promising as new research from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) shows that 37 percent of staff in Asia Pacific feel a lack of energy and motivation while working from home (WFH).
“Despite the initial widespread positive feelings toward the flexibility that WFH provided, employees are now experiencing increased feelings of virtual fatigue and burnout – with one-third of workers expressing their feelings of disenchantment,” noted Ben Tindale, Managing Director for Accounts at JLL Work Dynamics.
Another good news for the office market is that vaccination in the state of New South Wales (NSW) has reached more than 90 percent, one of the highest in the world.
Furthermore, the uptick in construction activity comes as foot traffic in Melbourne and Sydney surged 70 percent over the past 3 three weeks since the cities reopened.
