Raine and Horne Commercial

Angus Raine Executive Chairman Raine & Horne Group Welcome to Insights Q2 2021 Welcome to Raine & Horne Commercial Insights Q2 2021. What a difference a year can make! Just over 12 months ago, many Australians were gripped by serious concerns around the impact of the COVID-19 – not just on their personal health and wellbeing, but on the state of the economy and investment markets. Fast forward to mid-2021, and the picture is very different. The latest Federal Budget is forecasting the Australian economy to grow by 4.25% in 2021/22, and by 2.5% in 2022/23 1 . Remarkably, given that we are in the midst of a 1-in-100-year pandemic, consumer sentiment is higher than at any point since about 2011 2 . Meanwhile, in the background, the official cash rate remains at a historic low – a near-zero 0.1%, and the Reserve Bank has repeatedly stated it doesn’t expect to hike rates until 2024 at the earliest. This is feeding through to some of the lowest lending rates on record. And plenty of Australians are wasting no time using this golden opportunity to achieve their commercial property goals. The upshot is that the commercial property market is proving very attractive to both business owners and investors. As businesses reap the rewards of a rapidly recovering economy, many owners are taking advantage of super-low rates to buy their premises – often saving on lease costs in the process. Investors chasing strong yields and capital growth are also embracing commercial property. There is little doubt the market has shrugged off the concerns of 2020, and is very much back in buoyant territory. Indeed, many Raine & Horne commercial property experts say lack of stock on the market is the most significant challenge at present as buyers vie for quality assets. If you own a commercial property, there has never been a better time to enact your plans to sell. On the flipside, if you are an investor looking for an asset class with the potential for capital growth, extremely lowmaintenance costs and attractive yields, commercial property is likely to tick the boxes you’re looking for. I invite you to read through our Q2 2021 edition of Commercial Insights to discover how the commercial property market is faring in your part of Australia. You’ll see that a corner has been turned, and the commercial property market is likely to rise to new strengths as we head into the latter half of 2021 and beyond. Don’t miss out! 1 https://budget.gov.au/2021-22/content/overview.htm#one 2 https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/pdf/aw/economics-research/er20210519BullConsumerSentiment.pdf