OFFICE VACANCIES
Office landlords take desperate measures to find tenants
Office landlords are taking desperate measures to attract tenants as they struggle with vacancies and office demand. Some multinationals have moved into new premium (P-grade) offices and left older A-and B-grade offices vacant. Owners of these offices are struggling to find tenants that can occupy these buildings. When they do, tenants have been unwilling to pay rentals similar to those they vacated. The national office vacancy rate was 11.1% at the end of the second quarter of 2018, which is the lowest level recorded since the first quarter of 2017. For the 32 quarters from the fourth quarter of 2010 to then, there were only six quarters that showed an improving office vacancy rate. The head of listed property funds at Stanlib, Keillen Ndlovu, said problems had persisted for the office sector. "The office market remains challenging largely because of a number of dynamics; weak economic growth leading to little or no demand and oversupply. There have been so many buildings coming up...
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