According to office data from the Property Council of Australia the amount of sublease space available in Sydney has shrunk as smaller tenants are snapping up offices of up to 1000 square metres. This has suited landlords who can reconfigure the larger spaces into smaller offerings.

CBRE’s head of the Pacific office leasing business, Mark Curtain said the national office sublease recovery has been led by Sydney, where leasing market fundamentals have largely stabilised, and enquiry and deal volumes have increased considerably over 2020 levels.

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“Sydney recorded more than 500,000 square metres of new tenant enquiries throughout 2021, translating into 200,000 deals for 1,000 square metre-plus spaces,” he said.

“Notably, Sydney’s sublease vacancy reduced by more than 44 per cent during the year, a good indication that the worst of the office market downturn is now past us.”

JLL’s head of office leasing NSW, Daniel Kernaghan, added that in the second half of 2021 there was a continued fall in sublease availability and increased confidence by larger organisations to sign leases.

“We continue to see many small to mid-sized organisations take on additional space when relocating, which is flowing through to overall positive demand,” he said.