Office absorption rose by 168% in Q3CY21, says Knight Frank report

Study says in Jan-Sept 2021, office markets had incremental activity of 13% by volume and 6% growth in new office completion over same period last year

About 12.5 million square feet of office spaces got absorbed in the third quarter of this calendar year, representing 168 per cent year-on-year growth, according to a new study.

The quarterly report released by Knight Frank says that between January–September 2021, office markets witnessed an incremental activity of 13 per cent by transactional volume and six per cent growth in new office completion over the corresponding period the previous year.

Corporate India's significant shift toward resuming work from office, the increasing rate of vaccinations and fewer restrictions on mobility have improved the business environment and aided recovery to market traction levels seen in pre-pandemic times, Knight Frank India said.

The total office transactions in eight Indian markets in Q3CY21 have improved and reached 83 per cent of the 2019 quarterly average level, it said

Among the larger markets, Chennai, Bengaluru, and the National Capital Region (NCR) recorded highest recovery in Q3CY21 with transactions reaching 123 per cent, 112 per cent and 93 per cent respectively of the quarterly average of the year 2019.

The information technology sector was the largest consumer of space during the quarter, taking up 34 per cent of the space transacted. Occupiers also took up nearly 23,500 co-working seats across the eight markets during the quarter, the highest this year.

“The third quarter of 2021 saw the Indian office space market chart a robust recovery after the second wave threatened to derail the market in the preceding quarter. The volumes achieved in this quarter are also statistically significant when benchmarked against quarterly average of 2019, as office transactions were at a historic high in that year,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.