MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1984
CLEAR SIGNS OF PROPERTY MARKET REVIVAL I FRY
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THERE ARE NOW CLEAR SIGNS OF A REVIVAL IN THE PROPERTY MARKET, THE COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION, MR RAYMOND FRY, SAID TODAY.
COMMENTING ON PRELIMINARY STATISTICS AVAILABLE TO HIM, MR FRY SAID EARLY ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE TAKE-UP OF ACCOMMODATION IN ALL SECTORS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LAST YEAR THAN IN 1982.
WITH THE
MR FRY FELT THAT OF EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANCE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF OFFICES AND LARGER DOMESTIC UNITS — WAS THE REDUCTION IN SPACE FOUND YACANT AT THE END OF 1983, COMPARED WITH A YEAR EARLIER,
THIS SEEMED TO INDICATE THAT END-USERS WERE TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY, IN THE PRESENT SOFT MARKET CONDITIONS TO FULFIL THEIR ACCOMMODATION NEEDS,+ HE SAID.
+IT ALSO, HE ADDED, +SUGGESTS THAT DEVELOPERS SHOULD NOW BE TAKING A HÅRD LOOK AT FUTURE PROSPECTS SINCE, ALTHOUGH FIGURES ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE, THE INDICATORS ARE THAT REVISED FORECASTS OF SUPPLY FOR MOST SECTORS IN 1984 WILL SHOW A DOWNWARD TREND.
MR FRY WAS COMMENTING ON THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF SURVEYS UNDERTAKEN IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT'S 1984 PROPERTY REVIEW. HE SAID IT WOULD TAKE A MONTH OR SO BEFORE ALL THE COLLECTED DATA IS TABULATED,
ABOUT 28 000 DOMESTIC UNITS WERE TAKEN UP DURING 1983. COMPARED WITH AN AVERAGE YEARLY FIGURE OF UNDER 21 000 OVER THE PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS. THE OVERALL DOMESTIC VACANCY FELL FROM 31 700 UNITS AT THE END OF 1982 TO 25 500 UNITS (OR ABOUT 4.7 PER CENT OF TOTAL STOCK) AT THE END OF 1983.
HOWEVER, VACANCIES OF DOMESTIC UNITS WITH A FLOOR AREA OF 100 SQUARE METRES OR MORE INCREASED IN THE FACE OF A CONTINUING HIGH LEVEL OF SUPPLY. ALTHOUGH THE TAKE-UP, AT 1 800 UNITS, WAS WELL ABOVE THE 1982 FIGURE OF 1 200 UNITS, MORE THAN 2 600 SUCH UNITS CAME ONTO THE MARKET IN 1983, HE SAID.
TAKE-UP IN RESPECT OF ALL THE MAIN NON-DOMESTIC SECTORS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN 1983, AS COMPARED WITH 1982.
RESULTING FROM THE INCREASED TAKE-UP AND SMALLER SUPPLY VACANCIES IN FLATTED FACTORIES AND COMMERCIAL PREMISES BOTH FELL DURING THE YEAR.
THE RECORD TAKE-UP OF OFFICE SPACE AT 371 000 SQUARE METRES WAS PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY, BEING AN INCREASE OF ALMOST 47 PER CENT OVER THE CORRESPONDING FIGURE FOR 1982. NOTWITHSTANDING, VACANT OFFICE SPACE AT THE END OF THE YEAR STOOD AT JUST UNDER 800 000 SQUARE METRES, AN INCREASE OF 38 PER CENT OVER THE POSITION A YEAR EARLIER,
/+IT IS