Office uptake grows 36% in September quarter

Total net absorption of office space has gone up to 24 million sq ft, according to Cushman & Wakefield

After a lull, corporates and financial services companies have increased renting office properties. Net office uptake has gone up 36% in September quarter of this year compared to same period last year, says a new survey.

Total net absorption of office space has gone up from 17.7 million sq ft in September 2013 quarter to 24 million sq ft in September 2014 quarter, a report by real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield said.

Bengaluru saw the highest increase of 92% in net absorption at 6.2 mllion sq ft during the quarter compared to same period in 2013. Hyderabad saw an increase of 84%, recording a net absorption of 3.8 million square feet  and continued to outperform Mumbai essentially due to the substantial increase in pre-committed absorption during this period, Cushman said in the report.

On the other hand, Pune and Kolkata office market saw a decline of 26% and 19% y-o-y in total net absorption respectively.

Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield said: “The office markets have seen a positive trend as the economic growth improved from all-time lows and business confidence strengthened. Companies have started to expand their operations and new leases and expansion now constitute 75% of the leasing activity in the country with relocations and consolidations witnessing a decline over last year. We will continue to see this positive momentum in the next 2-3 years with net absorption likely to outstrip new supply from the year 2016.”