When it comes to prime office space cost, Delhi-NCR is the 9th most expensive market in Asia Pacific at $60.1 per square feet per year, according to a report.
As per Knight Frank’s Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index for Q1 2022 –covering 23 cities in the region, Hong Kong SAR is the most expensive prime office space market with an occupancy cost of USD 186 per square feet per year, followed by Singapore at USD 105 per square feet, Tokyo at USD 101.2 per sq feet, Sydney at USD 98.6 per square feet and Beijing at USD 84.8 per square feet.
“Delhi-NCR was the 9th most expensive market at USD 60 per square feet per year (around Rs 4,560 ),” Knight Frank said.
India’s financial capital Mumbai’s prime office space cost comes to USD 50.9 per sq ft per year (around Rs 3,800), taking the 15th position on the list. Bengaluru at USD 26.7 per square feet per year (around Rs 2,000) was at 21st positions in terms of most expensive office locations in the APAC region.
Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal said: “The Indian office market scenario has started to improve since the removal of COVID related restrictions. More companies are recalling their staff to office.”
Further, with the IT/ ITeS sector hiring upwards of 20 per cent new staff in the last 18-24 months, demand for office space is expected to rise further, he added.
“Bengaluru and NCR have seen a rise in leasing activities in Q1, 2022 with the cities recording transactions of 3.5 million square feet (msf) and 2.3 msf, respectively. The rental outlook for Bengaluru is strong, indicating a possible increase in values in the coming year, based mostly on the expected rise in demand,” Baijal said.
Amongst all cities of the APAC region, Bengaluru saw the highest growth in rental values in the first quarter at 5.8 per cent in Q1 2022 as compared to the previous quarter, the report said.
“With the change in the COVID-19 protocols, which are now leading more and more companies to call back their employees, there has been an uptick in transaction activities in the Bengaluru city. Adding to that, new completions have been deliberately kept low, keeping the values intact in the city,” the report said.
