Commonwealth Bank: Spending increased nationwide during August

The backbone of the economy is creating a viable business environment for money to flow through, which can be fostered and encouraged in a number of ways. According to a recent Commonwealth Bank release, spending has grown nationwide for the fourth year in a row – something that could be extremely encouraging for anyone considering commercial real estate in Surfers Paradise in the coming months. 

The September 22 statement released by the bank revealed that spending has continued to increase steadily over the last few months, with August posting a 0.5 per cent increase over the month. This is in line with recent trends highlighted by the latest Business Sales Indicator (BSI) released. In fact, the latest BSI has shown that this rate of growth has been consistent for the last six months, while there have been 37 consecutive months of growth all up. 

Executive General Manager Local Business Banking for the Commonwealth Bank Adam Bennett said that while these figures are slightly lower than the month before when seasonally adjusted, this simply reflects the shifting emphasis from a mining-based economy into a larger, more broad-based system. Business owners, for example, are in the prime position to reap the benefits of this growth, especially with the population growth figures expected over the coming years. 

"Overall, the August BSI shows business conditions remain favourable across most of the country. This month's results also reveal some unevenness between regions and sectors, as businesses continue to adjust to an economy in transition," said Mr Bennett in a September 22 statement. 

Furthermore, the author of the BSI Craig James said that there has been a lot of borrowing recently for housing and business investment, spurred on by an increasing confidence being seen nationwide and a hospitable financial market. 

"The latest job advertisement and unemployment data reflects a strengthening employment market, helping to underpin consumer spending. Both businesses and consumers have also been starting to take advantage of low interest rates, with lending growth continuing to recover," said Mr James in a September 22 statement. 

Specifically, Queensland was the second strongest state recorded during August – following South Australia – with an increase of 1.1 per cent in sales during the month. This brings spending increases up to 38 months straight for Queensland, offering a number of opportunities for buying commercial property across the state. 

Plans to help increase employment across Queensland

Furthermore, the Queensland government recently announced plans to help reduce their $80 billion debt, freeing up funds for job creation and infrastructure projects in the future. Premier Campbell Newman said the potential for up to 25,000 new jobs to be created could come following the plan's enactment, which involves the leasing of public assets. 

Treasurer Tim Nicholls made it clear in a 7 October statement that the government would retain control over the assets, as per the feedback provided by citizens from across the state. 

"Under our plan the government would write strict lease conditions to ensure Queenslanders' interests were upheld. The leases would be for 50 years with an option to extend for a further 49 years and would include conditions around the appropriate use of land and the assets, safety requirements and service levels," said Mr Nicholls, with the plan expected to bring in $37 billion for the state government.

"By leasing assets we can pay down some of the debt, reduce our interest bill and set up a series of funds to pay for the schools, hospitals, roads and rail we're going to need in the future as our state grows," said Mr Nicholls in an 4 October statement. 

These could be great plans to keep an eye on, especially for those looking into securing their own slice of commercial real estate in Surfers Paradise in the near future.