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The Urban Economics team has enjoyed the application of market and economic advice to a broad range of property developments including shopping centres, commercial office buildings, business parks, traditional industrial estates, technology parks, logistic hubs, airport cities, child care centres, mining camp accommodation facilities, retirement villages and aged care facilities, self storage complexes, medical and specialist suites, educational facilities, sport and recreational facilities, theme parks, hotels, student accommodation complexes, taverns, clubs etc.  Our team has considerable experience in the provision of a broad range of services to the retail, residential, commercial office, industrial and tourism and hospitality sectors.

Retail Industry

The retailing industry is a diverse, evolving and dynamic industry.  Urban Economics employs a variety of primary and secondary research tools in providing insights to, and critiques of, this challenging market sector, including our extensive databases on shopping centre performance, shopper behavior and household expenditure patterns, as well as floorspace and land use surveys for centres throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales.  Our clients include retailers and franchisors, developers, shopping centre management, investors, financiers and state and local authorities. As well as traditional shopping centres, Urban Economics has also examined fresh food markets, factory outlet centres, bulky goods developments, airport retailing and leisure retail. We have augmented our Australian knowledge through international experience of major shopping destinations such as New York, Dubai, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Paris, having visited some of the world’s largest shopping centres, lifestyle centres, auto malls and main streets such as La Ramblas etc.

The team provides a variety of services to this sector including:

·           Demographic Studies

·           Consumer Market Research including surveys and focus
        groups

·           Market Opinion Studies and Masterplanning Input

·           Market Feasibility Studies for new centres and extensions to
        existing centres

·           Branch Location Strategies for retailers

·           Market Performance Studies for existing centres

·           Economic Impact and Need Assessments

·           Evidence to the Planning & Environment Court

·           Evidence to the Retail Shop Lease Tribunal

·           Commercial Centre Strategies for planning authorities

Residential Market

Principally through the qualitative research experience of Kerrianne Bonwick, Urban Economics is establishing an enviable niche market in applying insights in consumer behaviour, motivations and purchase decision processes to the residential property market for developers wishing to test unique or innovative products.  Tools applied include focus group research with prospective or recent purchasers of residential property to gather insights to purchase intentions, as well as depth interviews and quantitative surveys.

Urban Economics also maintains a quantitative database of resident profiles, needs and expectations for target markets of particular product types such as rural residential estates, retirement villages and workers camps compiled through residential opinion surveys.

We have undertaken a broad number of studies of the residential markets in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, critiquing demand for and supply of a range of market products including standard residential estates, masterplanned communities, rural residential estates, rural living, townhouses, retirement villages, aged care facilities, community title developments, manufactured home parks, and unit developments.

Our expertise has been applied to a variety of studies of the residential property market including: ·         Market Opinions

·         Market Assessments

·         Concept Development Studies

·         Housing Needs Analyses

·         Housing Strategies

·         Residential Strategies and Population Distribution

·         Target Market Studies

·         Market Strategies

·         Consumer Market Surveys

·         Need for Material Change of Use Studies

Office Space Sector

The office space market in SEQ has been dominated by the Brisbane CBD and near City markets, although emerging “push and pull” factors such as congestion, occupancy costs and parking availability are increasingly challenging this primacy.  The performance of the commercial office market has traditionally correlated with movements in the economic cycle, with strong growth in employment demand, fuelling demand for commercial office space.  Understanding demand drivers such as employment growth, sectorial changes and technological improvements and their influence on takeup rates and patterns within the commercial office market as well as these puch/pull factors is therefore critical to assessments of supply conditions such as vacancies, rental levels and stock additions.

Analyses of demand and supply trends are augmented by quantitative and qualitative surveys with businesses and employees to identify building/space requirements, location attitudes, services/facilities required, parking and transport logistics etc.

Commercial office markets in CBD and near city environments, as well as emerging regional activity centres, and regional towns throughout Queensland have been examined.  Commercial office markets, individual office buildings, strata title buildings, medical and specialist centres, office parks, business parks, technology and research parks, campus-style developments, mixed industry and business parks have been critiqued.

Relevant experience and expertise includes:

·         Employment modelling and floorspace demand projections

·         Commercial Activity Centres Strategies

·         Market Demand Study for proposed office buildings

·         Tenant Surveys

·         Target Market Strategies, identifying market and leasing
       strategies for new office developments

·         Need and Impact Assessments 

Industrial Sector

The industrial sector has evolved beyond its traditionally noxious and “dirty” persona, to embrace a more diverse array of uses, employment activities and amenities.  Urban Economics has collected and collated considerable data that examines these trends, critiques underlying demand and supply drivers and considers the employment land implications of industrial development.

Urban Economics has undertaken studies of business and technology parks, mixed industry nodes, marine industry precincts, self storage facilities, as well as more traditional industrial estates, and prepared industrial land strategies to assist local authorities in planning for the future provision of industry land.

Studies and services that have been provided to the industrial property market include:

·         Market Assessment and Opinion Studies

·         Land Supply Analyses

·         Industrial Demand Projections

·         Employment modelling and projections

·         Employment land and industrial land planning strategies

·         Target Market Strategies

·         Horizontal and vertical integration identification

·         Need for Material Change of Use Studies

Tourism Industry

Urban Economics has undertaken a number of analyses of a diverse array of activities within the tourist and hospitality sector, including testing the feasibility of a range of tourism related products, identification of regional economic and tourism strategies and need assessments for material change of use applications.

Projects have included eco resorts, hotels, taverns and clubs, backpacker accommodation, airport cities, cinema complexes, film studios, golf courses, motels, island resorts, botanic gardens, marinas, convention centres etc, encompassing a range of different study types including:

·         Economic Benefit/Impact Studies

·         Market Assessment Studies

·         Regional Tourism Strategies

·         Consumer Market Surveys

·         Tourism Forecasts

·         Evidence to the Planning & Environment Court

·         Need Assessments for Liquor Licence Applications

·         Social Impact Assessments for Gaming Machines