Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2013 | Page 46

OFFICE TRENDS

BY JONATHAN SMITH

The Secret To Office Letting
Discover the right strategy for success

M

ost la nd lords have found it
incredibly diff icult to lease out
substantial off ice space since the
onset of the recessionary climate in 2008.
Our office vacancy levels currently average,
at best, twelve percent and are, in some nodes
within SA, as high as twenty-two percent.
Low take-up of off ice space has been
eventuated by the lack of office space usage as a
result of a shrinkage in tertiary sector growth
as well as an adjustment to our commercial
space users’ business and staffing plans.
Our companies use less space to save costs
and, even, allow some staff to work from
home or to hotdesk in order to reduce their
requirements for office space.
To accommodate an off ice worker (apart
from the salary cost of the employee) costs
a company an average of R150 0 0 0 per
annum. This overhead alone is reason enough
to consider reducing a company ’s space
consumption as much as possible.
Office landlords, therefore, need to employ
a number of innovative methods in promoting
the demand of their space in an economy
which is not growing at any sufficient pace to
improve office space demand and a commercial
environment which uses offices much more
efficiently than ever before.

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October 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

Such strategies can be divided into two broad
categories: organic (or internal) and external.

Organic office letting strategies
Office landlords should always seek to compare
their offerings to those of their competitors and
actively seek opportunities to improve their
buildings by comparison to those buildings
surrounding their developments.

“ You will need to
implement a refurbishment
programme in order to set
your buildings apart”
Those off ice building owners who have
maintained their developments in pristine
condition since the recessionar y climate
commenced would have benefitted from having
buildings that are relatively attractive.
These landlords will find it easy to compare
their lobbies, common areas, ablutions, kitchens
and usable areas with those of their competitors
and see little room for improvement.
However, where your office developments do
not compare well with competitive buildings,
you will need to implement a refurbishment
programme in order to set your buildings apart
and ensure their superiority.

The f irst step, then, in implementing an
organic–based off ice let ting strateg y is
to ensure that your off ice development is
superior by comparison to your competitor’s
buildings:
• compare your foyers – which must create a
lasting first impression
• compare your ablutions – which should
provide a modern and comforting appearance
• compare your passages and walkways which
should be light and inviting and should
include sophisticated artwork so as to inspire
tenants and visitors
• compare your lifts – which should be fitted
out in a contemporary manner
• compare your appurtenances which should
be mounted in attractive cases and clearly
sign-boarded
• compare your electronic accessibility – which
should always provide comprehensive
wireless connectivity
• compare your tenant signage – which should
be upmarket in appearance and contain a
modern and dignified qualitative air
• compare your usable (dedicated) areas which
should be clear, clean and light so as to
provide potential tenants with an anticipation
of their tenancy
• compare your parking facilities – these
should be light, clean and marked out in an
exemplary manner, providing special
widened bays close to the lifts and stairs for
executives and disabled people.
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