Track2Realty: Less than 3 million sq.ft of office space entered India’s prime real estate market in the quarter ending September 2013—dropping by more than 75% q-o-q over last quarter’s 10 million sq.ft of fresh office space supply; and by nearly 50% over the same period last year.
Track2Realty: Consequent to corporate real estate transaction closures during the first nine months of the year across the leading seven cities in the country, CBRE notices the potential generation of office employment opportunities of over 2,70,000.
Track2Realty: Sentiments towards commercial real estate investment remains favourable, as India’s economy shows itself to be less vulnerable to the overall slowdown as compared to other Asia economies.
Nationwide, market rentals across Grade A spaces continued to increase, nearing the INR 100 per square feet milestone, with an 8.7% QoQ increase in Q1 CY 2024. The disparity between market and existing rental rates expanded to approximately 14%, signalling a robust landlord-centric market environment. Specifically, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad experienced an uptick in rental rates during Q1 CY’24 compared to the preceding quarter.
With global corporates increasingly seeking to optimize resources, maximize savings, and drive growth, India offers a compelling proposition. During Q1 2024, India continued to witness traction in GCC leasing activity. A significant 5 million square feet (msf) of leasing activity by GCCs, represented 37% of total office leasing across the top six cities. Looking ahead, GCCs are projected to lease between 45-50 msf of office space in the next two years, constituting around 40% of total demand.
Absorption of office spaces increased to 13.40 Mn sq ft in Q1 2024 from 11.85 Mn sq ft in Q1 2023, showcasing a 13% increase Y-O-Y, says a Vestian report. However, the absorption declined by 31% this quarter after peaking in Q4 2023. Southern cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad) accounted for 61% of the Pan-India absorption in Q1 2024 its share increased from 54% a year earlier.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad emerged as frontrunners for demand of Grade A office space in Q1 2024, cumulatively accounting for more than half of the India leasing activity. The office market of Hyderabad especially demonstrated a strong momentum with 2.2x space uptake in Q1 2024 as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. This demand was driven by Healthcare & Pharma and Technology sectors. Amongst other major office markets, Mumbai too experienced a notable surge in leasing activity, an impressive 90% YoY rise in Q1 2024.
Fractional Ownership is an evolving concept, on the lines of REIT but very different from REIT. Unlike REIT, which is a listed entity owning income producing real estate, Fractional Ownership is coming together of investors to pool their funds and jointly purchase real estate. Though in its very essence, the idea is to rent it out and earn the equitable rentals, many ‘office for a limited purpose’ investors are also getting into Fractional Ownership for convenience. A Track2Realty analysis.
India office holds upside potential to scale up to 60 msf in 2024. Domestic enterprises to account for over half of the office demand during 2024. GCCs to gain further ground accounting for over 40% of the total demand. BFSI and Engg & Mfg. to drive demand for Grade A office spaces. Flex spaces are likely to drive about 15-20% of the overall leasing in 2024. Large-sized deals of 100,000 sq ft or more, projected to account for 50-55% of 2024 leasing activity. About 30-35% of Grade A office demand is likely to come from PBDs in 2024.
Should businesses continue to operate out of old jaded buildings at the heart of the city? Is it more convenient for the commercial activities to move to the upscale swanky offices on the periphery locations where the cost of doing business per square feet is much lesser? Is ‘Walk to Work’ only a city center reality across the urban pockets? These are the subjects of serious discussions across the built environment of commercial real estate world over, finds Track2Realty.