Office building leasing up 37% in September in top 7 cities: JLL India

The total leasing of office space for all grades of buildings rose 37 per cent year-on-year in September across seven major cities to 6.3 million square feet on better demand, according to property consultant JLL India.

The aggregate office market leasing activities refer to transactions for all grades or types of buildings in the top 7 cities (Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata).

The total leasing of office space stood at 4.6 million square feet in September last year and 3.9 million square feet in the previous month, according to JLL India Aggregate Monthly Office Leasing Tracker.

The data includes confirmed pre-commitments and term renewals. Deals in the discussion stage are not included.

Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Pune were the top three cities, accounting for three-fourth of all leasing activities in September 2022.

The BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) sector emerged as the strongest driver of aggregate market activities in September with a share of 26 per cent, followed by technology firms at 22 per cent.

Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research, JLL India, said office occupancies are rising and therefore demand is strong.

However, he said: "We will approach the end of the year with global headwinds potentially likely to impact demand momentum as occupiers pause to watch for macroeconomic signals before embarking on future real estate growth plans."

According to the JLL data, India's office Grade A (premium) stock stood at 732 million square feet at the end of the March quarter. The office stocks of other grades were 370 million square feet, taking the total stock to around 1.1 billion square feet.