Southport Commercial Market Update
(Gold Coast CBD) — 2025–Early 2026 Trends
📍 Quick snapshot: what’s happening in Southport right now
Southport (the Gold Coast’s CBD) is seeing two realities at once:
✅ Prime, well-located space is still in demand (especially A-grade offices and strong retail positions close to transport and daily foot traffic).
⚠️ Some secondary stock is softer—particularly older or less efficient tenancies and space tied to vulnerable occupier groups (more on that below).
Across the broader Gold Coast office market, the latest Property Council results show vacancy remains structurally tight, with commentary noting tenant movement into Southport as one of the drivers behind recent shifts.
🧭 What’s driving demand in Southport
Southport benefits from a rare combination of fundamentals that matter to commercial tenants:
🚊 Transport & accessibility: G:link, major arterial roads and strong walkability.
⚖️ Government/legal and professional services gravity: Courthouse precinct and supporting services.
🏥 Health + allied services spillover: Ongoing demand for suites that support medical/allied/professional uses (often strata).
🏗️ Urban consolidation & investment focus: More buyers are selective—paying for quality, WALE and location, and discounting risk.
A key near-term market influence has been how quickly certain tenant groups can change demand. For example, CBRE commentary on the PCA data noted that vacancy uplift was concentrated in Southport, driven by contraction in parts of the education sector, with thousands of sqm vacated across the Gold Coast during that period.
🏢 Office market: prime space holds up, secondary needs a strategy
1) Vacancy & tenant movement
Property Council commentary (Jan 2026 release) puts overall Gold Coast office vacancy at 7.7%, and specifically flags tenants moving into Southport as part of the market movement.
CBRE’s breakdown (for the PCA period to June 2025) adds important colour:
Vacancy increase was largely concentrated in Southport
A-grade vacancy stayed very low (CBRE cited 2.7% for A-grade)
Vacancy pressure was more pronounced in lower-grade stock
What this means for sellers:
If you’re selling an office asset or strata suite in Southport, your pricing and marketing should clearly signal why your property competes in the “prime” bracket (or, if it doesn’t, why it’s a smart value play).
2) Rents & incentives (what owners should expect)
Even when headline rents don’t explode, effective rents can improve if:
incentives tighten,
fit-outs reduce tenant capex,
and buildings offer end-of-trip, parking, light, or modern services.
Across Australia, major firms are repeatedly reporting that the market is increasingly “quality-biased”—better stock wins; weaker stock needs sharper leasing economics.
3) Southport office buyer demand
Buyer appetite is strongest when assets show:
✅ stable tenant profile (or diversified income),
✅ realistic outgoings and capex forecast,
✅ defensible location (transport + amenity),
✅ leasing story that doesn’t rely on “hope”.
🛍️ Retail & mixed-use: value is in necessity + experience
Southport retail is not one single market. Think three micro-markets:
Daily-needs retail (food, services, pharmacy-adjacent, convenience)
Destination/experience pockets (dining precincts, weekend foot traffic, events)
Fringe/service retail (showrooms, trade counters, bulky goods edges)
Nationally, prime retail cap rates have been hovering around the high-5% range in recent 2025 reporting (with modest movement quarter-to-quarter).
For Southport, this becomes practical in one way: buyers still pay for dependable income, but will scrutinise lease strength and reletting risk.
Seller tip: If your retail tenancy has any vulnerability (short WALE, specialised use, weak covenants), the campaign must lead with:
🧩 “Here’s the plan to secure the next tenant” (not just “great location”).
🏭 Industrial & service trade: Gold Coast constraints support rents
Southport itself isn’t a heavy industrial hub—but it is surrounded by precincts that feed service trade, storage, and logistics-lite demand. Across the broader Gold Coast industrial market, commentary has highlighted:
strong tenant demand,
limited land/supply,
rent growth in smaller-format industrial and service trade stock.
Recent market wrap commentary for the Gold Coast has cited smaller-space leasing rents climbing into roughly the $170–$180/sqm range, with prime yields reported in the mid-5% to mid-6% band (market-dependent).
What this means for Southport owners:
If you’re selling a mixed-use asset with storage, loading, or service-trade utility, highlight that replacement supply is difficult, and occupiers value functional space near the CBD catchment.
💰 Yields & investment sentiment: selective, but ready to move
Investors are still active—just more cautious. The national tone across research has been:
capital returns, but on a selective basis,
yields show signs of stabilisation in some segments,
and price discovery remains tied to interest rates and leasing risk.
What sells best in Southport (right now)
✅ Fully/strongly leased assets with clear tenant demand
✅ Strata suites suited to medical/professional use (good natural light, parking, lift, signage options)
✅ Retail in “daily-needs” positions with resilient trade
✅ Buildings with a credible capex story (no nasty surprises)
What needs extra work (but can still sell well)
⚠️ Older B–D grade office stock without upgrades
⚠️ Over-rented leases nearing expiry
⚠️ Unclear zoning/DA upside not properly documented
🧠 Seller’s playbook for Southport in 2026
Here’s how to win in this market:
🔎 1) Lead with proof, not adjectives
Provide leasing evidence: enquiry, comparable deals, tenant profiles.
Show net income clarity: outgoings, sinking fund, capex allowances.
🧱 2) Package the asset around its buyer type
Investor buyers: WALE, covenant, passing yield, upside rental reversion.
Owner-occupiers: fit-out value, signage, parking, access, staff amenity.
📣 3) Market the “why here” story
Southport’s edge is amenity + transport + CBD gravity. Tie the asset to that narrative using maps, precinct points, and walk-time highlights.
✅ Call to Action (Norton’s Real Estate)
If you’re considering selling (or repositioning) a Southport office, retail, mixed-use, or strata commercial asset, we can give you a clear strategy on pricing, buyer targeting, and the best campaign structure to match current demand.
Disclaimer
This update is general information only and is not financial, legal, or valuation advice. Market conditions change quickly, and figures vary by asset type, lease profile, building grade, and location. Always seek independent advice and confirm details relevant to your property before making decisions.