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One of the positive consequences of Brisbane hosting the Olympics in a decade, the first Australian city to do so in over three decades, is the impact the games will have on the commercial market.
Commercial property agency Burgess Rawson anticipates that the games will spur activity in the Sunshine State, with the impacts to be spread beyond traditional asset classes. The group’s director Adam Thomas said that interest had increased in the state after it was widely considered a pandemic safe haven following lengthy lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.
Mr Thomas, who has only been in Brisbane for a few months, explained that Queensland’s non-discretionary assets — such as health and child care, liquor retails and hotels — would weather the latest rising interest rate storm.
“From its golden child at the peak of the pandemic to the green and gold fever that has followed the announcement of the 2032 Olympic Games, some segments of South-East Queensland’s commercial property sector have enjoyed a steady flow of capital and uplift in values,” he said.
“Major infrastructure projects, including Cross River Rail, Brisbane Metro, Herston Quarter, Queen’s Wharf, along with the [Eagle Street] Pier redevelopment by Dexus, will create their own gravitational orbit, and we expect to see specialist retail, medical, child care, and select industrial assets establish off the back of these nodes.”
It is not just the state capital set to experience such growth, with Townsville’s 15-year City Deal having also cemented it as a region on the move.
“Large format retail is already up-sizing and repositioning for the growth that’s to come in far north Queensland and we’re expecting major industrial, distribution and logistics precincts will develop in the short-term in Townsville,” Mr Thomas said.
Burgess Rawson has noted that its last two auction events were rife with good assets in capital city, regional and suburban locations and included mixed-use retail and commercial property in Bongaree in Bribie Island — which sold for $72 million on a yield of 5.76 per cent.
Other sales have included Ascot Medical in Brisbane’s inner north, which achieved a sales price of $1 million over reserve following from 60 bids, and a childcare centre in Toowoomba, which was purchased for $5.75 million on a yield of 4.91 per cent.
The agency has revealed plans to host regular auction events every six to eight weeks and double its headcount in Queensland by the conclusion of 2023 to keep up with the traction.
Mr Thomas concluded that the long lead-up to the Brisbane Olympics would benefit the market by allowing greater investment despite rising interest rates.
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