Leeds Real Estate Business Faces Tough times
August 11th, 2009Occupancy levels of office spaces in the Leeds city centre have not seen any significant rise in the second quarter of 2009. The lettings have been limited to less than 10,000 sq ft, which point towards the typical market behaviour during recession.
Developers have been desperate to keep the cash flowing and the occupants have been happy to stay put, and as a result, most of the reported lettings had more to do with either contract renewal or changes in existing agreements.
Jones Lang LaSalle, a development company, reported that the office space demand in Leeds went downhill through the 2nd quarter as indicated by the fact that office space enquiries of 128,500 sq ft in this quarter was lower by 40% as compared to the average demand of the last five years in the same period. All the future demand for office spaces now hinge mostly on the public sector as they have been driving up the demand for shared office space in recent times.
The company has also reported that vacancies in office space are likely to remain constant in the wake of lack of any new constructions. The vacancy rate currently stands at 12.9%, which is accompanied by a steady fall in demand. A 40,000 sq ft refurbishing project at the Crusader House will be the only new construction in the Leeds area, which is likely to be ready by the end of 2010. Grade A spaces might see a shortage as the demand is likely to increase with limited available supply.
