Office occupiers opting for unconventional cities: Study

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Office occupiers are opting for cities that have not historically been known to house those particular sectors, says a study.

Share of cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) in absorption of IT/ITeS spaces has gone upto from 38% between 2004 and 2011, to 52% in January 2012 to September 2013 while that of Bangalore, touted as country's commercial capital, has come down from 34% to 18%, said a report by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle.

Vacancy in IT/ITeS buildings in Mumbai, the country's commercial capital, has fallen to 24% from 29% while that in non-IT  buildings has risen from 16 % to 21%.

"This trend may continue as by December 2015 another 13 million sq ft of non-IT office space  will hit the market contrasting with just 6 million sq ft in IT Parks-SEZs. IT Parks can host non -IT occupiers to a certain extent, but IT  occupiers have to operate from IT Parks -SEZs for business  efficiency," JLL said in Monthly Real Estate Monitor-november 2013.

Pune’s dependence on IT -ITeS has fallen from 59% to 45%  and Hyderabad has be come first choice for healthcare, biotech, telecom, and construction companies, which  together have taken up 28 % of the total space leased in the city  (up from 12% at December 2011).

More consultancy companies moved to NCR and the banking, finance and insurance sector (BFSI) reasserted its faith in Mumbai and also added Pune as a preferred destination, JLL said.