The great majority of us still have some pretty old fashioned ways of thinking about property.

Just the very words landlord and tenant come from a bygone era when we stop to think about it. It was a time of feudal land ownership when there really were lords with peasant tenants who were completely subservient to them.

Language is a powerful thing, and using these words today always implies a power structure. In the subconscious mind (more…)

I was browsing through some blogs and online articles about commercial property leasing in the United States and it dawned on me (not for the first time!) how limited our systems in New Zealand are for tenant representation.

In the USA, Australia and other countries it is very much the norm that both landlords and tenants alike have their interests independently represented. (more…)

Clients I speak with regularly say the commercial property market has become increasing stressful and complex. So much so, that it inhibits businesses from making decisions about future locations; whether to upsize, downsize, move or stay.

The message I hear is that there is a general fear that making the wrong decision about their property needs could tip a business over the edge. Because of this worry, the inclination is to defer doing anything.

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Research is showing that the high vacancy levels in commercial lease property in New Zealand is a trend that looks set to stay for the next couple of years.

Low interest rates, inflation and slow recovery from the global economic crisis will have an ongoing ripple effect on commercial property.

In the short term, this is leading to an increase in trends such as “shadow space” where a business (more…)

In the past few months I’ve noticed a definite trend towards organisations searching for new premises.

A year ago, this was not the case at all. The bulk of our work then was negotiating rent reviews and lease renewals. People were still nervous about making decisions in recessionary times. (more…)

One of the key impacts on the currently flooded commercial property market is the number of large corporate tenants moving to new buildings.

In Auckland, there’s a growing list of large banks, insurance companies, management consultants and engineering firms moving to bigger, better, brighter and greener premises.

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Just a couple of years ago, the headline above would have made absolutely no sense to anyone. In fact even today, a great number of people would still think it is gobbledegook. But the world is moving fast and what is one day a word or term that only makes sense to geeks, can almost overnight become everyday language.

We now “Google” things, and “Facebook” people rather than research things or write letters, and suddenly we are accustomed to it.

So let me explain today’s heading…

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As we head into a new decade and optimism increases as the green shoots of economic recovery grow leaves, there is going to be some exciting new thinking needed for doing business.

It is increasingly an era of customisation, where people have more and more say about the goods and services they buy, and how, where and when they get them.

In my area of expertise – commercial property leasing – the (more…)

As the year comes to a close, many businesses (and homeowners) think about what alterations and renovations they can make to premises over the summer break.

When commercial tenants are reassessing space needs for the coming year, it is an excellent time to look at adjusting premises to fit your staff profile. (more…)

I’ve often talked about the trends towards sustainability and green buildings and how this is something that is with us to stay.

Work environments that are both green and user friendly are definitely in demand with employees, and also with organisations wanting to walk the talk around their commitment to the planet and people. Being green is (more…)

When people talk about innovation and smart business practices, we often hear the hackneyed cliché “thinking outside the square”. And usually it’s much easier said than done.

So today I thought I would share a story about a case where true outside the square thinking for one of our clients ended up improving their productivity, service to clients and reducing their rental costs.
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People often ask me what’s going on in the commercial rental property market. They’re all keen to hear the real oil, so I thought I would run through some current trends and some predictions.

I must as always qualify this by saying that there will always be exceptions to the rule and while these are broader trends, the situation will always vary on a property by property basis.

The current market is undergoing a double whammy experience of… (more…)