December is traditionally a time to take stock of what has happened in the previous year and anticipate what might happen in the forthcoming year. For the commercial property market the summary for 2015 was overall very positive. Take up of office, industrial and retail stock was much stronger than it had been in previous years and rental increases across the board have risen to reflect the improving market. Hopefully that trend will continue throughout 2016 but as a cautionary note there may be a darker cloud on the horizon for those looking to acquire property as the supply side is much weaker than it has been for some time. The loss of town centre office stock to residential conversion schemes has had a severely damaging effect on the supply and on the commercial front the shortage of land designated for future development, coupled with the lack of available existing units could create further problems for both tenants and purchasers. All parties involved with the commercial property market do need to make provision for future growth as lack of supply will subdue the local economy. Responsibility lies with landowners, property owners, developers and planners, who all need to pull together to ensure that Newbury’s commercial hub remains vibrant and active.
Some transactions this month include;
