Australia’s office vacancy rates crept higher in the first half of this year to levels not seen since the 1990s, according to biannual data published by the Property Council of Australia. 

Vacancies in downtown Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, where most large companies are headquartered, were already above 10% and rose between 0.2% and 0.9% in the first half of the year, with those in the Melbourne central business district (CBD) rising the most, according to the report.

The national CBD vacancy rate rose to 12.8% from 12.6%, the data showed. The pace slowed from the second half of 2022, when it rose 0.6%.

Office landlords face tenants looking to cut back on space made surplus by home working just as higher interest rates hit property values and raise debt servicing costs in what could become an existential crisis for the sector. 

However, Mark Curtain, advisory & transaction services senior managing director, Pacific at CBRE, stated: “We are confident that the Australian office sector will stabilise and rebound strongly over the next few years.”