KwaZulu-Natal Correspondent

DURBAN Letting activity has been vigorous in Durban's central business district (CBD) in the past few months, cementing a shift towards a high number of small deals.

JHI Real Estate broker Nicholaus Matalose, who has concluded 19 deals in the CBD this year, says an average 80% of deals done by the company in KwaZulu-Natal are for space in Durban's CBD. He believes larger companies are decentralising and that companies which have remained in the CBD have done so because it serves their market and distribution purposes.

Smaller companies are also moving into the city, taking space in the B- and C-grade buildings.

Matalose says the latest trend is for a number of smaller companies to occupy the same floor. Broker Steven Reddy says there is a false assumption that there is a decreasing demand for office space in the CBD. But he says the recent flurry of letting deals is over 'a different type of deal', involving cost-effective rentals in B- or C-grade offices. He expects growth in this trend.