We’ve never seen as much change in terms of the commercial property market as we have in 2020. Some of the changes have been big (major companies canceling leases and sending their staff home to work) and some have been minor (communication seems to be changing with our customers contacting us a lot more via email instead of phone). It’s important to be conscious of these changes and how they are impacting different players in our industry.

Here are 3 significant changes we are seeing:

  1. Customers are very conscious of potential tenancy issues, because tenanting properties is becoming increasingly challenging and anything that may put off a tenant must be dealt with. That means we’re seeing important maintenance work continuing as normal to ensure tenants are happy with their commercial premises.

 

  1. Customers are increasingly price sensitive. The current international uncertainty is undoubtedly affecting the mood of businesses here in New Zealand. That means that even if a business is continuing to do well, the owners are being very careful about what they spend their money on. Many are doing anything they can to try to reduce costs (stop jobs, reduce fixed costs, look for alternatives etc.). However, this is very much dependent on a business’s individual circumstances and most seem to be being careful, without completely stopping specific operations.

 

  1. Having employees work from home is a better option for some bosses, in terms of costs, which is directly impacting demand for commercial premises. Commercial renting is a huge business expense, so some tenants are deciding to move out or rent cheaper accommodation. From our position, when this occurs, it’s important to provide relevant information related to minimum standards (as mandated in legislation) to ensure buildings are kept in a rent-ready state regardless of any changes. Flexibility is key and we are happy to provide customers with multiple quotes for job costs where their circumstances have changed.

 

Obviously, we’re seeing a lot of change in the current business environment, but some of this change is positive. As more kiwis return from overseas in the coming months, we expect to see new demand for business space.