Kent Commercial Property Market is Growing Slowly

Judging from the latest surveys and research the improved economy in the region which was apparent in the first months of the year has slowed bringing concerns about the long term recovery of the commercial property market.

Yet the level of activity in some areas, such as Bromley, belies the gloomy picture. It would appear that one level below the major transactions, there is a healthy market.

The official side comes in a survey by Markit for the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) which showed that in the third quarter business activity weakened compared with the first half bringing a modest expansion in output. In September the Business Activity Index rose from 51.9 in August to 52.6, still in positive territory.

The good news is that employment increased for the fifth month out of six with a sharper trend in job creation. This would indicate that business remains confident about the recovery and is hiring to cope with future growth. The next stage is to see how this view is affected by the government’s spending cuts. SEEDA’s Paul Lovejoy commented: “The survey reinforces our view of continuing modest expansion of business activity. Weaker demand and continuing increases in input prices have led to a slowdown in manufacturing growth but it is encouraging to see an increase in investment in capacity and a slightly faster pace of expansion in the service sector.”

The problem that is looming for the commercial property market is that the cut in the public sector is hitting activity. For example, in its latest survey Savills said that development activity fell at its fastest rate for the past 18 months in September.

It said: “Both public and private sector activity reduced. The contraction in the public sector was notably sharp, with pace of decline the sharpest since December 2008. The decrease in the private commercial development was comparatively moderate.” The fact that development in central London has increased markedly in the past year is a guide to what can happen in the region most affected by the capital.


The Kent, Surrey and Sussex Commercial Property Register

The Commercial Property Register for Kent, Surrey and Sussex is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Offices Space, Serviced Offices and Commercial Property in Kent Surrey and Sussex. You can also find the latest commercial property news for this region.