Bengaluru tops in office rental growth in APAC

◗ In India, CBDs of Delhi and Mumbai too found themselves in the 20-city Knight Frank index. Connaught Place in Delhi saw 4.4 per cent rental growth and Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai recorded a 2 per cent rise. ◗ In terms of rentals, Delhi topped among

The central business district (CBD) of Bengaluru has recorded the highest growth in office rentals in the Asia-Pacific region for the September quarter, according to a Knight Frank report.

According to the report, India and Australia were the only two countries which saw rentals growing in the quarter.

Bengaluru’s CBD, which consists of areas such as MG Road, Infantry Road and Residency Road, saw the highest 17.6 per cent y-o-y growth in office rentals in Q3 2019, according to Knight Frank’s AsiaPacific Prime Office Rental Index.

New and higher priced stock coming online in the CBD along with higher rentals being charged by renovated properties saw rentals rising.

After Bengaluru, CBDs of Melbourne and Bangkok witnessed office rental growth of 15.5 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively.

In India, CBDs of Delhi and Mumbai too found themselves in the 20-city index. Connaught Place in Delhi saw 4.4 per cent rental growth and Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai recorded a 2 per cent rise.

“The office market has been witnessing a steady growth in India, which is adequately reflected in the growth in rental values in prime office markets. Bengaluru, in particular, has seen continued growth

in leasing activities, due to the competitive pricing offered by its CBD, as against its counterparts in New Delhi and Mumbai. Bengaluru CBD sees continuous demand, which in turn has pushed the rental values upwards,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India.

However, in terms of rentals, Delhi topped among the three cities at $51.8 sqm per month, followed by Mumbai at $46.2 and Bengaluru at $20.5. “Bengaluru has seen an exemplary growth due to its competitive rental values which is less than 50 per cent of Mumbai as well as Delhi CBD rental rates,” said Parth Mehta, MD, Paradigm Realty.

Hong Kong, with a monthly rental value of $206.6 per sqm, was the most expensive office market in AsiaPacific in Q3, followed by Tokyo ($110.9 per sqm) and Singapore ($ 80.5per sqm).