Queensland real estate market could get CSG boost

A new Jones Lang LaSalle research paper has noted benefits from the projects could flow to Queensland’s commercial property market.

It added that Brisbane’s central business district and fringe office markets have already benefited with almost 25,000 square metres of office space already committed to by major players such as Santos, Origin Energy, Arrow Energy and BG.

However, report co-author and company research director Leigh Warner noted the indirect impact of the industry on related services companies would have an even greater effect on office space.

“We saw this firsthand in Brisbane over the past five years with the coal boom. The actual coal companies’ space requirements paled into insignificance relative to the demand generated from other sectors as a flow-on from the investment and employment created by the coal industry.”

He added the CSG-to-LNG sector represented a strong opportunity for Queensland to replace the impetus to its economy that coal had provided over the past decade.

Fellow author and Jones Lang LaSalle Queensland head of sales and investments Geoff McIntyre noted the strongest indication of the potential of the sector was the investment that global energy giants such as ConocoPhillips, BG, Petronas and Shell had made in the past 18 months despite the global financial crisis and fall in energy prices.

He added that the growth in natural demand was forecast to far outstrip oil and coal over the next few decades.

“The coal boom showed how quickly and how strongly investment in resource projects can flow through to property markets,” McIntyre said.

“Consequently, astute property investors should keep a watching brief on the CSG-to-LNG sector, where the potential flow-through impact to the real estate sector may be even greater.”

Monday, 20 July 2009

PNN