Australia office vacancy rate lowest in 3 yrs

SYDNEY Feb 2 (Reuters) - Australia's office vacancy rate fell to its lowest in three years in January, as a drive by mining companies to expand helped make up for weaker business sentiment in other areas, data from the Property Council of Australia showed.

The vacancy rate declined from 9 percent in July to 7.9 percent in January, the lowest since January, 2009, the council said on Wednesday. Compared to that, the U.S. office vacancy rate stood at 17.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The data revealed a mixed picture with office vacancies in Perth's central business district (CBD) dropping to 3.3 percent in January from 7.8 percent in July last year, while Sydney's CBD, home to many financial institutions, saw the rate edge up to 9.6 percent from 9.3 percent.

"Brisbane and Perth, in particular, have recorded a spectacular lift in demand," Peter Verwer, Property Council of Australia chief executive, said in a report.

Brisbane's CBD was one of the best performing markets by net absorption, pushing down the vacancy rate to 6.2 percent from 7.4 percent.

James Patterson, CBRE regional director, office services, said the headline numbers masked a big variation in performace from city to city around Australia.

"Some 45% of the net absorption recorded in the second half of 2011 was in Perth and Brisbane, yet the cities only account for 22% of Australia's office stock," Patterson said in a separate report.

"This shows the two- or multi-track economy is not just an idea, it's well and truly here," he added.

Looking ahead, the property council forecasts 2012 supply levels to be about one-third higher than average at 800,000 square metres, 65 percent of which is pre-committed.

Most CBDs, particularly Melbourne and Canberra, would need to absorb a larger-than-average wave of supply to keep current rates of vacancy, the council said. (Reporting by Eriko Amaha; Editing by Ed Davies)