Australia office rents up 1.9% in 2024

Brisbane saw the fastest rental growth rate of 11.8%.

In a recent report, Knight Frank revealed that prime net effective rents in Australia’s offices rose 1.9% in 2024, with increases observed across all major cities tracked. Those in Brisbane led the way as a dearth of new supply tightened vacancies through the year and lifted rents by 11.8%.

“Perth also saw rents grow a robust 3.3%. However, those in Sydney and Melbourne were restrained by higher incentives where occupier fundamentals have largely been less robust relative to the resource-led cities,” the report said.

Here’s more from Knight Frank:

On the whole, the development pipeline will remain thin in 2025 as high construction costs amid the prevalence of elevated interest rates put the brakes on new schemes. While a higher proportion of occupiers are currently opting to renew rather than relocate, this could change during the course of 2025 on the back of an improving economy.

With better connectivity reinforcing the appeal of core markets in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, the slowdown in commencements will start to drive decisions and prompt occupiers to act to secure better-quality spaces.