South East: Rents and demand fall as pandemic hits property

The global pandemic continues to take its toll on the South East commercial market, as the Q2 2020 RICS UK Commercial Property Survey points to a decline across the region’s office, retail and industrial sectors.

The fall in demand in response to the economic fallout means the near-term outlook for rents across the South East’s commercial sector is now negative across the board. Retail is unsurprisingly expected to see the biggest fall (-77% net balance) in rents over the next three months, while +15% of respondents expect industrial rents to fall. In the office sector, +61% of local respondents expect rents to fall in the coming three months. Contributing to the adverse sentiment around offices, 93% of respondents anticipate that businesses will scale back their space requirements in the coming two years.

Although interest in retail in general has fallen, some anecdotal evidence in the survey points to opportunity and interest in secondary units, in some instances perhaps due to the potential for conversion to housing as well as appetite from some independent businesses looking for space in local high streets. This is perhaps indicative of a broader shift around commercial location in the wake of the pandemic.

In another question asked nationally, respondents were asked if they felt demand for office space in suburban locations may rise in place of urban centres over the next two years. 64% felt this shift would occur. This not only suggests there could be some significant changes in store for the office sector moving forward, but also interestingly, a potential driver for regional high streets. Anecdotal evidence also suggests there will also be a shift to higher quality office space, with more focus on well-being and sustainability.

Looking further ahead, the 12-month rental expectations for the South East’s retail space point to further decline, as rents are likely to fall by -12% and -13% for prime and secondary retail space over the coming year. Respondents expect slight growth in rents for the prime industrial sector. Finally, the region’s office space is set to see rents fall by -5% for prime office space and -7% for secondary space.

Tarrant Parsons, RICS economist, commented: “The latest survey feedback unsurprisingly reflects the significant disruption and uncertainty that emerged across the economy during the lockdown period. With demand from both occupiers and investors falling sharply, respondents now anticipate rents and capital values will come under downward pressure while the market adjusts to a drastically changed economic environment.

“In particular, the recent shift into remote-working raises many questions across the office sector, with respondents expecting businesses to re-evaluate their office space requirements over the next two years. On a brighter note, the outlook is already showing signs of recovery across industrial sector, which remains set to benefit longer-term from an acceleration in the growth of ecommerce.”