Monthly Market Update
Sydney CBD Tenant Demand & Leasing Market Intelligence
July 2026

Welcome

Welcome to Grace Commercial’s July Market Update. As always, this update shares recent activity within our business, market insights and draws on live data from our tenant brief tracker to help keep your finger on the pulse of the Sydney market.

July was a strong month for our business, being appointed on 60 Margaret Street and 139 Macquarie Street, with active tenant negotiations already taking place. We also launched an incredible whole floor spec fit-out to the market at 20 Bridge Street which is receiving great feedback and generating enquiry for the asset.

Ryan Grace

Founder / Director

Trent Stephens

Senior Partner

Ben Clarke

Senior Analyst

Our Recent Deals
Napier & Blakeley | 20 Hunter Street | 470sqm
NSW Government | 60 Castlereagh Street | 346sqm
Private medical user | Health Translation Hub | 170sqm
Active Brokerage
230sqm | Premium | Core | Q1 27 LCD (Signed HoA)
1,000sqm | A grade | Core | Q4 26 LCD (Signed HoA)
2,000-2,500sqm | A grade | Core | Q3 27 LCD
300-400sqm | B/Heritage | Core/Midtown/WC | Q1 27
400-500sqm | B/A/P | Core/WC | June 27 LCD
1,000-1,200sqm | A grade | Core | Flex start from mid Q2 27 - Q2 28 (Activating late August)
100-150sqm | A/B grade | Core/Midtown | Q4 26 LCD (Inspecting options)

Market Insights

    July logged 33 new tenant briefs across the Sydney CBD market, down from 41 in June and well below the March peak of 58 - enquiry volumes have now eased for four straight months, even as July's total came in 7 ahead of the 26 recorded in July 2025.
Vacancy is tightening from the top down: Sydney CBD's headline rate has compressed to around 13.9% - the lowest level since Q1 2023 - on a fifth consecutive quarter of positive net absorption (9,500 sqm in Q2, 96,000 sqm over FY25/26). Premium vacancy is notably tighter still, at 8.9%.
Quality continues to lead the recovery: prime-grade buildings gained 105,500 sqm of net tenant demand over the 12 months to June 2026, while secondary-grade buildings lost 9,500 sqm on balance (more tenants moved out than in).
Rents are climbing while incentives ease: Sydney CBD prime net effective rents are up 4.2% YoY to $832/sqm pa, with average gross incentives holding broadly stable (Premium 35%, A-Grade 37% on average) - a new phase of face-rent-led growth, with leasing resilience increasingly migrating beyond the Core into Midtown and the Western Corridor.

  
July 2026 Snapshot
Tenant Briefs, July 2026 (Market-Wide)
33
vs 26 in July 2025 (+7)
Average Size
892 sqm
vs 2,238 sqm in July 2025*
Total Demand
31,810 sqm
vs 58,198 sqm in July 2025*
Market-wide figures cover briefs run by all Sydney CBD tenant-rep firms. *July 2025 skewed by several outsized briefs (incl. a 20,000–30,000 sqm government requirement).

Activity Trends
Briefs issued per month: Feb–Jul, 2025 vs 2026

      2025
      2026
    
      60
      50
      40
      30
      20
      10
      
      24
      
      43
      Feb
      
      39
      
      58
      Mar
      
      29
      
      55
      Apr
      
      34
      
      49
      May
      
      38
      
      42
      Jun
      
      26
      
      33
      Jul
    2025 & 2026 figures are market-wide (all Sydney CBD tenant-rep firms) and reflect data as of this publication — briefs added to the tracker after publication, including those back-dated to prior months, may not be reflected until a subsequent update. All figures sourced from Grace Commercial Brief Tracker.

Enquiry Log: July 2026

    33 enquiries
  

  
  
    #DateTenant repCompany
    Size (sqm)LocationGradeTiming
  

  
      1
      1 Jul
      Pullinen Property Group
      Confidential Client
      170-220
      Sydney CBD
      —
      Q1 2027
    

      2
      1 Jul
      LPC
      MUFG
      2,500-3,000
      Sydney CBD
      Premium / A Grade
      N/A
    

      3
      2 Jul
      Charter Keck Cramer
      AWN
      0-250
      Sydney CBD
      —
      As soon as possible
    

      4
      2 Jul
      Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW) Pty Ltd
      IREN
      2,000-2,500
      Sydney CBD
      Prime Grade
      Immediate timing; 5yr term plus options
    

      5
      2 Jul
      Colliers
      Confidential
      1,400-1,600
      Sydney CBD
      —
      01 Dec 2026; early access by Q3 2026
    

      6
      2 Jul
      Cushman & Wakefield
      MIGA
      500-600
      Sydney CBD - ideally Core CBD
      A
      Q2 2027
    

      7
      3 Jul
      Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW) Pty Ltd
      Mulliner
      60-120
      CBD Core, Midtown & Western Corridor
      B Grade+
      Q4 2026; 3-5yr term
    

      8
      3 Jul
      Tenant People & CTA
      Live Nation
      600-700
      Haymarket, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Pyrmont, Chippendale, Ultimo or Redfern
      A, B or Heritage
      Access Q4 2026
    

      9
      9 Jul
      CBRE
      Tokio Marine
      1,500-2,000
      City Core / Western Corridor / Midtown
      Premium or A
      N/A
    

      10
      10 Jul
      Kernel Property
      Emerald Clinical Trials
      200-250
      Sydney CBD (South of Market Street)
      A & B-Grade
      Lease commencement April 2027
    

      11
      13 Jul
      Tenant CS
      Ivory Group
      550-650
      Sydney CBD (City Core, Western Corridor, Central)
      A-Grade, B-Grade
      Q1 2027 with early access for fitout
    

      12
      13 Jul
      Tenant CS
      Sanger Australia
      175-250
      Sydney CBD Core and Western Corridor
      A-Grade, B-Grade
      Q2 2027
    

      13
      13 Jul
      Tenant CS
      REInet
      400-500
      Sydney CBD
      A-Grade or B-Grade
      Q1 2027 (with early access)
    

      14
      15 Jul
      Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW) Pty Ltd
      Commonwealth Entity
      750-850
      Sydney CBD
      —
      N/A
    

      15
      16 Jul
      Pullinen Property Group
      Confidential Client
      450-550
      Central to Circular Quay, Sydney CBD
      —
      Q1 2027
    

      16
      16 Jul
      Tenant Representation Services (TRS)
      Bridges Lawyers
      1,600-1,700
      Sydney CBD
      A and B
      5+5yr term; Lease Start 1 Oct 2027
    

      17
      17 Jul
      Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW) Pty Ltd
      Elastic
      250-300
      CBD Core
      Prime Grade
      June 2027 + early access; 5yr term
    

      18
      20 Jul
      Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW) Pty Ltd
      Bank of Communications
      1,400-1,500
      CBD Core
      Premium Grade
      Early access from Q4 2027; 5-7yr term
    

      19
      20 Jul
      Duggan Property Consultants
      Miles Advisory Partners
      400-500
      CBD Core - Sydney CBD
      Premium or A
      Lease Commencement 01 Nov 2027; 5 yr preferred term
    

      20
      21 Jul
      Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW) Pty Ltd
      Commonwealth Entity
      5,000
      Sydney Fringe
      —
      N/A
    

      21
      21 Jul
      TACTIC
      Herron Todd White
      450-600
      CBD Core, Western Corridor, Midtown - Sydney CBD
      A or B
      Access Q3 2026
    

      22
      21 Jul
      Gordon Property Advisory Services
      Energy Bay
      650-700
      Sydney CBD
      Premium, A or B
      Access 01/07/2027; Lease Comm 01/11/2027; 4yr term, 3yr option
    

      23
      22 Jul
      JLL
      Confidential
      500
      Sydney CBD
      Prime / Flex
      Immediately
    

      24
      23 Jul
      Tenant CS
      National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC)
      750-950
      Sydney CBD - Town Hall, Western Corridor through to Circular Quay
      A-Grade
      Q2 2027
    

      25
      23 Jul
      Tenant CS
      Neoen Australia
      900-1,100
      Sydney CBD and Midtown - Town Hall to Martin Place
      A-Grade and good quality B-Grade
      July 2027 with early access
    

      26
      23 Jul
      Kernel Property
      Harvest Lane Asset Management
      100-120
      Sydney CBD - Financial Core (Circular Quay to Martin Place, Macquarie St to George St)
      A/B
      Early 2027
    

      27
      27 Jul
      CBRE
      Confidential
      500
      Mascot and surrounds
      A & B
      2H 2026
    

      28
      27 Jul
      Knight Frank
      Confidential FinTech
      1,000-1,400
      Sydney CBD - Core, Midtown, Western Corridor
      A & B
      Early access January 2027
    

      29
      28 Jul
      JLL
      Confidential
      700-900
      Macquarie Park/North Ryde, St Leonards, Chatswood & North Sydney
      A Grade
      LCD September 2027
    

      30
      29 Jul
      Tenant CS
      THN Group
      250-300
      Sydney CBD
      A-Grade
      Q2 2027
    

      31
      29 Jul
      Tenant CS
      IFAW
      125-150
      Sydney City Fringe & Sydney CBD (close to Central/Town Hall)
      A, B & C Grade
      Q1 2027
    

      32
      29 Jul
      Tenant CS
      Wesco Anixter
      700-950
      Macquarie Park
      A-Grade to high quality B
      Q2 2027
    

      33
      29 Jul
      Gordon Property Advisory Services
      Design & Build Recruitment
      550-600
      Sydney (CBD)
      A or B
      3-5yr term, 3yr option, access Q2 2027
    

  
  