Office absorption rises 168% in July-sept 2021

About 12.5 million square feet of office space was absorbed in the third quarter of this calendar year (July-september 2021), representing a 168 per cent year-on-year (YOY) growth, according to a new study.

The quarterly report, released by Knight Frank, said in 2021 (January–september 2021), office markets witnessed an incremental activity of 13 per cent in transactional volume and 6 per cent growth in new office completions compared to the corresponding period of last year.

With corporate India taking significant steps toward resuming work from office, increasing rate of vaccinations along with fewer restrictions on mobility improved the business environment. Recovery was aided to market traction levels seen in pre-pandemic times, Knight Frank India said.

Total office transactions of the eight India markets in Q3 of 2021 improved and reached 83 per cent of the 2019 quarterly average level, it said.

Among the larger markets, Chennai, Bengaluru, and NCR recorded highest recovery in Q3 of 2021 with transactions reaching the level of 123 per cent, 112 per cent and 93 per cent, respectively, of the quarterly average of 2019. The information technology sector was the largest consumer during the quarter and took up 34 per cent of the space transacted.