MCU14/0106 Appendix K - Commercial Needs Assessment

5          Commercial Office Demand Drivers
The demand for commercial office floor space is driven by a number of factors. Principally these are:

   Population growth – both locally and regionally;

   The regional labour force profile (including participation and employment rates) and growth; and

   Office based white collar employment growth (including trends towards higher white collar
    employment rates).


5.1        POPULATION GROWTH
The local and regional population growth can influence the demand for office floor space in a location
depending on the significance of the office location and its position and role in the regional centre
network. Both regional and local population growth are reviewed in this assessment as drivers for the
demand for office floor space in the Noosa Civic catchment area.

5.1.1      REGIONAL POPULATION GROWTH
The Sunshine Coast region has been one of the fastest growing areas in the country over the past
decade. The Sunshine Coast had an estimated residential population of around 330,500 in June 2013
(refer Table 5.1). Between 2001 and 2006, the region experienced population growth of 3.3% per annum,
compared with the Australian average annual growth rate of 1.2% across the same timeframe. Growth
slowed between 2006 and 2011 to around 2.3% per annum.

Based on medium series population forecasts prepared by the Office of Economic and Statistical
Research (OESR) at the Queensland Treasury (formally the Planning Information and Forecasting Unit or
PIFU), it is estimated that population growth on the Sunshine Coast (which includes the Noosa Shire) will
continue to remain strong, growing at 2.2% per annum between 2013 and 2016. Over the medium to
longer term, it is predicted that population growth will remain solid before beginning to slow, in percentage
terms, around 2026.




24    COMMERCIAL OFFICE DEMAND DRIVERS
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                                                                 REP_251114_NOOSA CIVIC COMMERCIAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT FINAL