New Delhi, Demand for premium office space across major cities is likely to exceed 70 million sq ft this year and as work-from-home is no longer a concern for the Indian commercial real estate market, Anshul, head of Cushman Wakefield India, said. Jain.
Cushman & Wakefield, one of the leading global real estate advisors, trusts the Indian office market due to the high demand from global capacity centers (GCCs) and domestic companies in key regions.
In an interview with Ideas, Jain, chief executive, India and Southeast Asia and head of Asia Pacific tenant representation, Cushman & Wakefield, said, “What's interesting about India now is that it is being called the office of the world. And Demand in India is one of them." Highest in Asia and indeed the rest of the world.,
He said the Indian office market across seven major cities is seeing very strong demand, with both gross leases and net leases reaching around pre-COVID levels.
“So, from an office market perspective, except for 2020, probably 2021, 2022 and some part of 2023 have been very strong years and we expect 2024 to continue to be an exceptionally strong year as well,” Jain said.
Asked about the demand outlook for 2024, Jain said, “Gross leasing activity in India will remain above 70 million sq ft this year. And I see a similar trend happening over the next few years. "
According to Cushman & Wakefield data, gross office leasing across top cities during the 2023 calendar year stood at a record 74.6 million sq ft, while net office space leasing stood at 41.1 million sq ft.The highest net absorption was recorded in 2019 at about 44 million square feet.
Elaborating on office demand, Jain said huge demand is coming from new global capability centers (GCCs), adding that demand from startups is also high.
"India is the third largest startup community in the world. Startups are maturing, becoming unicorns, so they need an organized space for their employees and they are expanding very fast," Jain said.
Demand is coming from healthcare, pharma, engineering, manufacturing as well as co-working office operators, who are contributing more than 10 percent to the total leasing demand."US companies still dominate the demand. 65 per cent of organized office space demand in India actually comes from US companies. Hence, there is a strong momentum, which gives us confidence that the gross leasing volume will remain above 70 million square feet,” he said.
Asked whether 'work from home' is still a cause for concern, Jain said, "Not at all, I think we have completely recovered from that phase."
Recently, he said, "I read an article in a newspaper where we learned that Cognizant has finally instructed its people to come back to the office.So, even the last companies that were opposed to coming back to office offices are coming back and that's the interesting piece, right."
Jain said the number of employees in most of these multinational companies is much higher than 2019 levels.
“Most of these firms have very similar asset portfolios compared to 2019. So, while work from home is certainly over, some degree of hybrid is here to stay. But on average, headcount is up by 50 to 60 percent.” Even with some level of hybrid, most companies are out of space...,” he said.Jain also highlighted that corporates are focusing heavily on environmental and sustainable elements when looking for office space.
Cushman & Wakefield, one of the leading global real estate advisors, trusts the Indian office market due to the high demand from global capacity centers (GCCs) and domestic companies in key regions.
In an interview with Ideas, Jain, chief executive, India and Southeast Asia and head of Asia Pacific tenant representation, Cushman & Wakefield, said, “What's interesting about India now is that it is being called the office of the world. And Demand in India is one of them." Highest in Asia and indeed the rest of the world.,
He said the Indian office market across seven major cities is seeing very strong demand, with both gross leases and net leases reaching around pre-COVID levels.
“So, from an office market perspective, except for 2020, probably 2021, 2022 and some part of 2023 have been very strong years and we expect 2024 to continue to be an exceptionally strong year as well,” Jain said.
Asked about the demand outlook for 2024, Jain said, “Gross leasing activity in India will remain above 70 million sq ft this year. And I see a similar trend happening over the next few years. "
According to Cushman & Wakefield data, gross office leasing across top cities during the 2023 calendar year stood at a record 74.6 million sq ft, while net office space leasing stood at 41.1 million sq ft.The highest net absorption was recorded in 2019 at about 44 million square feet.
Elaborating on office demand, Jain said huge demand is coming from new global capability centers (GCCs), adding that demand from startups is also high.
"India is the third largest startup community in the world. Startups are maturing, becoming unicorns, so they need an organized space for their employees and they are expanding very fast," Jain said.
Demand is coming from healthcare, pharma, engineering, manufacturing as well as co-working office operators, who are contributing more than 10 percent to the total leasing demand."US companies still dominate the demand. 65 per cent of organized office space demand in India actually comes from US companies. Hence, there is a strong momentum, which gives us confidence that the gross leasing volume will remain above 70 million square feet,” he said.
Asked whether 'work from home' is still a cause for concern, Jain said, "Not at all, I think we have completely recovered from that phase."
Recently, he said, "I read an article in a newspaper where we learned that Cognizant has finally instructed its people to come back to the office.So, even the last companies that were opposed to coming back to office offices are coming back and that's the interesting piece, right."
Jain said the number of employees in most of these multinational companies is much higher than 2019 levels.
“Most of these firms have very similar asset portfolios compared to 2019. So, while work from home is certainly over, some degree of hybrid is here to stay. But on average, headcount is up by 50 to 60 percent.” Even with some level of hybrid, most companies are out of space...,” he said.Jain also highlighted that corporates are focusing heavily on environmental and sustainable elements when looking for office space.
