Office space leasing in Delhi-NCR falls 25% in Q4: Report

Office space leasing: Office space leasing in Delhi-NCR witnessed decline of 25 per cent annually, totalling 18.1 lakh square feet in January-March this year, according to real estate consultant Vestian. drop came on back of reduced demand from corporates compared to year-ago period, when office absorption stood at 24 lakh square feet.

data released by Vestian also showed 40 per cent decrease in office space leasing in Delhi-NCR from 30 lakh square feet in October-December quarter. Across top seven major cities, office absorption increased by 13 per cent to 134 lakh square feet in January-March 2024, compared to 118.5 lakh square feet in corresponding period last year.

However, despite annual increase in office absorption, re was 31 per cent decline during first quarter of this year, following a peak in fourth quarter of 2023. Vestian CEO Shrinivas Rao expressed optimism about positive start to 2024, noting sustained absorption activities in major office markets across India.

Rao also highlighted potential resurgence in demand for office spaces driven by return-to-office mandates, which may propel next wave of growth amid global hewinds. Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderab, accounted for 61 per cent of pan-India absorption in January-March period, with ir combined share increasing from 54 per cent compared to previous year.

IT-ITeS sector dominated absorption with a 47 per cent share, followed by BFSI sector with 11 per cent share. ditionally, flexible spaces garnered interest from large conglomerates post-pandemic, accounting for 8 per cent of pan-India absorption in Q1 2024.

In specific cities, office leasing trends varied. In Bengaluru, leasing declined to 26.2 lakh square feet, while Chennai witnessed a doubling of office demand to 33.5 lakh square feet. Similarly, office leasing in Hyderab rose to 22.7 lakh square feet, and Mumbai experienced a doubling of office space absorption to 24.9 lakh square feet.

Conversely, Kolkata saw a decline in leasing to 1.6 lakh square feet, and Pune witnessed a decrease to 7.1 lakh square feet during January-March 2024 from 15 lakh square feet in year-ago period.

(With PTI inputs)