February 2021 Business Finance Update
There's some interesting commercial property and car sales news around right now:
Record interest in commercial property
Workers returning to CBD offices
Car sales jump 11.1% in January
Businesses urged to secure their assets
Read more below.
Businesses and investors keen on commercial property
Commercial property searches hit a record high in early February, according to data from realcommercial.com.au.
"Nationally, buyer search volumes are now 6% above the previous historic peak, and up 30% from a year ago," the property listings site reported.
Year-on-year ‘For sale’ search volumes are up in every state, with the largest increases seen in the Northern Territory (73.1%), New South Wales (22.5%) and Victoria (20.6%).
REA Group chief economist Nerida Consibee said healthcare and medical properties had been attracting particular interest, because they've been immune to lockdown closures. Covid has also led to increased interest in health sciences, she added.
“At a local level, that means that it doesn’t just make things like medical centres do well, but also manufacturing facilities for medicine and health-related products,” she said.
“It extends to hospitals and anything that’s linked to people’s health and wellbeing, particularly during a pandemic.”
Return to offices a "godsend" for CBD businesses
Office occupancy rates have been rising in most capital city CBDs, in a sign life is returning to normal after a turbulent 2020.
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin reported increased occupancy rates between October 2020 and January 2021, according to the Property Council of Australia.
PCA chief executive Ken Morrison said it’s encouraging to see so many CBD workers returning to their offices to enjoy the benefits of face-to-face connections and collaboration.
“Our CBDs support millions of jobs and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity,” he said.
“While we have a long way to go to get back to pre-COVID levels, increased CBD occupancy is a godsend for the thousands of businesses that rely on bustling city centres to survive.”
Mr Morrison called on policymakers, employers and the property industry to maintain momentum and ensure our CBDs return to full activity as quickly as possible.
Car sales jump 11.1% thanks to low interest rates
Australians have begun 2021 in car-buying mode, continuing a trend that started in the final months of 2020.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reported that 79,666 vehicles were sold in January 2021 – an 11.1% increase on the 71,731 vehicles sold the previous January.
All states and territories enjoyed year-on-year increases in sales, from 1.9% in Victoria to 38.7% in the Northern Territory.
Meanwhile, sales in the three months to January 2021 were 12.4% higher than the corresponding period the year before.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the strong sales numbers show positive levels of consumer confidence.
“With attractive interest rates and a range of other economic indicators encouraging consumption, we hope to see this trend in new vehicle purchasing continue through 2021,” he said.
The five most popular models in January were:
Toyota Hilux = 3,913 sales
Ford Ranger = 3,120 sales
Toyota RAV4 = 3,066 sales
Toyota Landcruiser = 2,388 sales
Mazda CX5 = 2,081 sales
How businesses can save themselves from “a world of pain”
Australia's small business ombudsman has urged small business owners to secure their assets and business loans, to protect themselves from a rise in insolvencies this year.
Kate Carnell said small businesses should secure their assets through the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) – even though the system can be hard to use.
Ms Carnell said many small businesses don’t realise that correctly registering their interests today might save them from “a world of pain” in the future.
“So many small businesses have invested heavily in their businesses over the past 12 months, but few know that they can secure these loans, pushing them higher up the security chain if there’s an insolvency,” she said.
“More importantly, small businesses that register their interests won’t need to fight tooth and nail to retain title to their goods if a business customer winds up.”
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Disclaimer: The advice provided in this article is general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this advice you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. We encourage you to consult a finance professional before acting on any advice provided in this article or on this website.
