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Commercial conditions start looking up

By Greg Bell

While there has been weaker business confidence of late, recent surveys and figures suggest that confidence across many sectors could be on the up. We have already looked at factors directly impacting industrial leasing on the Gold Coast, but the wider business community in our part of the world may also be feeling slightly brighter about the future. 

But what in particular has improved of late, that might be encouraging people to investigate commercial real estate on the Gold Coast

Employment conditions improving

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has tempered its latest labour force figures with the statement that the numbers may not be completely reliable, but there has still been a boost in jobs numbers across the nation in the latest release, for May 2015.

For May this year, unemployment dropped by 0.2 per cent – suggesting business growth across the board. There were 22,000 less people without jobs during this month, while the number of employed people jumped up by 42,000 in May. These are seasonally adjusted and unrounded estimates, but still cause for confidence for many people in Australia. 

Perhaps most encouragingly for those interested in commercial property for sale on the Gold Coast, employment increased the most in the Sunshine State. Over the month of May we had an increase of 18,700 employed people, well ahead of second-placed New South Wales, which generated 15,300 new jobs. 

What this means is more activity for businesses, and perhaps the beginning of better conditions to expand your own company or open up a new store. 

Confidence continues to recover

It isn't just employment conditions that have been improving of late as well – general confidence and outlook about the future have seen a strong uptick, as recorded in the National Australia Bank (NAB) monthly business survey.

The readings in this survey for May show the best business conditions results since October last year, which could be a direct response to measures for small business announced in the federal budget. On top of this, the overall confidence levels were the highest they have been since August 2014. 

This survey was released before the latest jobs figures, and it was noted that employment outlooks were among the darker points from the NAB survey. Given the shifts in employment conditions announced by the ABS, the NAB survey could see even better results next time around. 

Businesses up while consumers are down

Further research from the NAB has shown that while business confidence is strengthening, consumer anxiety is moving in the opposite direction. 

"Cost of living pressures are now causing the greatest stress for Australian consumers, but anxiety has increased most in relation to job security where stress levels are at their highest since early-2013," noted Alan Oster, chief economist with the NAB.

However, once again, Queensland had the best results in the country for stress levels among labourers and consumers. This indicates that on both sides of the counter, there is positivity about the future. This could be exactly the news you need to renew your retail leasing on the Gold Coast, or perhaps to expand to a newer, larger site.

Get the experts

If you're a business owner on the Gold Coast or elsewhere in Queensland, and feel like you're part of this swell of confidence about what's ahead ,then it could be time to start looking at potential sites for a business expansion.

When you need to do this in or around Surfers Paradise, Ray White should be your team to get you through. We have been helping business owners from all walks of life find ideal real estate for many years now, and will be doing so well into the future. 

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