Join us for 5 minutes whilst we profile staff from around the country. Today, we hear from Hunter Hordern, NSW Office Leasing Analyst.
- How did you get started in property?
Through the Savills Graduate Program! I studied a Bachelor of Economics at Sydney University and saw property (especially commercial) as a path that would interest me. Since starting at Savills I have started a Master of Real Estate Investment at UTS, which is exciting as I can apply the things that I am learning at Uni to my everyday role at work. - What is happening in your market right now?
As companies begin to return to the city and their offices, managers are having a clearer picture of what their office requirements will look like going forward. As such we have seen demand increase for smaller suites that have existing fit-outs, in a more “Prime” office grade. The PCA announced in their recent figures update that the “flight to quality” was beginning and that is reflected in the requirements from tenants for 100-300sq m of space with a “turn-key” solution. - How has COVID-19 affected your market? What are you/ your team doing to combat this?
COVID has especially affected the leasing market in conjunction with the lack of foot traffic in the city. As a result of the grey area surrounding the flexibility of working from home going forward, larger companies have returned large tranches of space to the market as subleases. However, we believe that this is not indicative of the demanded space in the market – being smaller, fitted suites. As experts in the leasing market, our team’s role is to educate and connect tenants with the best options for them, whilst also acting as a point of call for our clients in helping them discover their future space requirements. The lockdown period gave us an opportunity to focus and build upon our client relationships and realign our goals with theirs for the future. - When do you think the market will bounce back?
I think that we are already seeing the market bounce back! Demand has increased dramatically over the summer period and as more companies return to the city this will continue. - Name one career highlight from the past 12-18 months & why
My first day at Savills! I knew that it was the start of a journey for me and I was excited to be starting at a place like Savills. The teams that I have interacted with and the company in general has been really supportive of me, especially during the lockdown period where there was an unbelievable level of uncertainty in the market. I’ve really enjoyed my time so far at Savills!
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