WHAT an office will look like and how it will be used in the next few decades has again been raised as companies review their rental agreements and prepare for an increase in expenses.

The two biggest costs for any organisation are payroll and rent. Gone are the days of companies owning their head offices. The money tied up in bricks and mortar years ago was deemed idle cash that could be better used growing the business.

As a result finance directors, who for many years had to double as property managers, decided to raise cash through the sale of the head office.

And for those that could drive a hard bargain, they negotiated long-term rents at reasonable levels to lower the costs.

But as available office space shrinks and those rent deals come up for renewal, the landlords are in a position to seek higher payments.

But is a large office needed?

Dr David Rees, the Australasian head of research and consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle, says that as technology improves, demand for office space is changing. Yes, we still need offices, but just how much?

In the Hot Property column in Commercial Real Estate today, Dr Rees asks: ”Do you think that your grandchildren will work in an office?”

”If the answer if ‘yes’, then you believe that the wave of demography and technology that propelled so many of us from farms, mines, factories and corner stores into offices in just three generations has suddenly skidded to a halt,” he says. ”The facts suggest otherwise. The pace of change seems to be speeding up, not slowing down.”

Instead of buying a commercial property though, renting office space is increasingly becoming the solution of choice for many small businesses.  Leasing  office space can be great option for many different reasons.  We’ve collated a list of 5 advantages renting office space has over buying :

1. Flexible – Renting office space allows greater flexibility and doesn’t usually commit you to long term decisions. If you are uncertain of the future growth of your business choosing to buy office space can be a very scary prospect. Short to medium term leasing arrangements allow you to could choose a space that meets your current needs and provides greater flexibility to expand (or reduce) your space needs in the future.
2. Try it Out – choosing to rent office space – particularly for a new business, or in a new area – allows you to “test the water” and check to see how the business performs in that particular area or environment. If things don’t happen to work out as expected it’s generally a good deal easier to break a lease than it is to sell a property.
3. Mobility – Choosing to rent an office space means that you are more mobile. You will not be tied down to a particular location and will find it a good deal easier to move premises if and when you choose.
4. Cost – Renting Office space is almost certainly going to be significantly cheaper than buying it.  You will also not have the responsibilities of all the other expenses associated with owning a property.  Property maintenance can add a significant overheads for property owners, whereas if you are renting the space this will be the landlords responsibility.
5. Responsibility – Running a business is tough enough without having to worry about all the extra issues associated with property ownership.  Renting your space means you can focus on running your business.

The primary aim of any business is to get a reasonable return on their investment – with as little as possible cost, or effort.  Small business owners in particular often struggle with the logistics of the day to day management of their business. Renting office space instead of buying it is a cheaper, safer, simpler, and more flexible option for most businesses.

Whether  you are looking for office space to rent, or are interested in renting out surplus space in your commercial premises, SpaceOut can help you make the choice easier.

Google now offers a product call Search Stories – which allows anyone to create their own Search Stories video based around keywords and searches of their own choosing.

Here is one that we’ve prepared for SpaceOut, with the aim of highlighting that SpaceOut offers a variety of space rental services (including Storage, Parking, Office and Rural space) in areas  throughout Australia. I hope you like it :

What is Co-working Space?

Co-working space, is essentially a shared office environment where professionals and freelancers (often, but not always, in related industries) work together in the same space, swap ideas and resources, enjoy social interaction, and all at a price that is generally much more affordable that the alternatives.

The co-working concept has proved to be particularly appealing for creative based professionals, such as web and graphic designers, PR consultants, copy writers, and marketing freelancers.

Co-working is ideal for freelancers and self-employed who have found that the realities of working from home aren’t quite what they had expected. Home based workers can face issues such as isolation, lack of networking and fewer opportunities for collaboration. It can also be very difficult for solo workers to find office space for just one person at a price they can afford, while traditional serviced office facilities may be too expensive and impersonal.

One significant advantage of co-working over traditional office space lease arrangements is that a long-term commercial lease or full-serviced office rental arrangements are not normally required, so the shared office space may be available for as long (or short) as you need.

Co-working in the USA

Co-working is alive and well in the US, with a variety of different shared spaces available – including the well known co-working spaces Citizen Space and the Hat Factory in San Francisco and various other shared office services in other US cities. Co-working in the US has been described as “offering a techie twist on the age-old practice of artists or writers teaming up to rent studio space“.

Co-working catches on in Australia

Co-working is now also catching on in Australia.  As a direct result of a growing demand from self-employed creatives and freelancers to have an affordable workspace away from home, spaces are opening in many capitals, including Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane.

Some shared office spaces, like Melbourne co-working space OpenHub (www.openhub.com.au), were started by companies looking to share the cost of office space.  OpenHub offers a variety of different services – from a one off use of a meeting room (@$120) to a Full-time dedicated desk space (@$600).  OpenHub even offer a Free service for Co-workers associated with charity based projects.

Water Street Studio (www.waterstreetstudio.com.au) in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, provides desk space in an airconditioned office, with internet, electricity and access to a meeting room / boardroom included. They offer shared office space from just $150 per week  for a minimum 3 month term, with no bond or formal lease required.

Shared Office Listings

Online services such as SpaceOut (www.spaceout.com.au) also provide information about office space for rent, and regularly have listings for shared office space in many areas throughout Australia.

Whether you are searching for shared office space or would like to make a little extra income by renting out your spare office space , the co-working concept seems destined to be a trend that will continue to grow.

In Sydney, the asking price for prestigious office space that is currently under construction is rumoured to be up to $1400 a square metre.

The anticipated rise in the costs of office space is typical of a market coming out of a recession and reflects the fact that relatively few new development projects have been started in the past couple of years.

Melbourne’s premium rent is more like $550 per sq m, but independent adviser Urbis has predicted a rise of about 10-12 per cent over the next two years.

Australia’s major cities remain among the most expensive in the world for parking space fees and office accommodation – a reflection in the lack of supply and the expected rise in demand for office space as numbers of white-collar workers rise.

DTZ’s 13th annual Global Occupancy Costs report, highlights six Australian cities that are among the world’s 100 most expensive.

According to the report, Sydney’s ranking has increased from position 45 in 2009 to 23 in the latest data – putting it well ahead of many international business precincts including downtown New York, Brussels and Berlin.

Melbourne jumped from rank 86 in 2009 to 53 in 2010. Brisbane is ranked 29, followed by Perth (32), Canberra (73) and Adelaide (80).

SpaceOut continues to offer a realistic alternative for people searching for cheap and convenient office space to rent.

For this exercise, there is only one page you need to look at, and that is the individual space detail page found by logging in to your member account and selecting the listing.  Ensure tjat the address details are correct and then review each other field and choose  (or enter) the most appropriate values  for each.

Is your space a garage, a room or a parking space etc? What is the access? Determine how much you are charging for your space – if you ask too much you are unlikely to get many responses. Take a look at local storage rates, you can see the results of our Australian nation wide storage price survey or even call self storage operators in your neighbourhood and ask for a quote for the size of space you have as a guide.  We typically recommend 50-70% of the ‘professional’ rate.

Next include accurate measurements for your space so SpaceSeekers can match their needs.

The Space Profile is the most important field on the page. You need to give potential SpaceRenters a mental picture of the space. Here is an example of a poor space profile which will leave more questions than answers, followed by a simple, informative one:

“Got a spare room for rent.”

versus:

“Spare rumpus room within our house for storage. Secure, dry and accessible from driveway by ramp. Area is tiled, lockable and has a big double door entrance.”

Obviously the second example gives a clearer picture of the storage area even though it is pretty short, and you’d probably more inclined to go with this right? And so would a potential SpaceRenter.

The Owner Profile field is really to give a simple picture of you – it doesn’t need to be a life story obviously, but something that gives potential renters an idea of what your situation is. For example:  “Mum, dad, two children, cat and 2 dogs. Not many visitors and home a lot.”

And that’s as simple as it needs to be. 5-10 minutes of thought on this page can make all the difference in the Private storage world. Put yourself in the shoes of a SpaceSeeker and think about what you’d like to see.

Happy renting!!

Now, if you are just interested in Parking or Office Spaces you can  search and view each of them on their own dedicated search pages.

You can access these special search features directly from the new look Home Page – or via new links in the drop down menus.

We have also provided some additional information about Office Space Listings and Parking Space Listings (with more to come), and made it easier than every to create your listings by adding the New “Add a Listing” tab to the main menu.

Finally, we have customised the Logo for Parking Space and Office Space Listings – so now you can tell at a glance when you are within these special areas of the site.

We will be looking at the possibility of providing Office Space and Parking Space specific search pages – making it easier for people looking for these types of spaces, and better for spaceowners to list their Office and Car Parking Spaces.