Office space leasing drops 27% in Jan-March quarter

The leasing of office space fell 27 per cent in eight major cities to 5.5 million sq ft during January-March quarter due to lack of supply, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

The net absorption of office space stood at 7.4 million sq ft in the year-ago period. Supply of office space has been affected as the real estate developers are facing liquidity crunch because of a multi-year demand slowdown in the property market.

 “Net absorption declined 27 per cent to 5.5 million sq ft in Q1 2017 (January?March 2017) from 7.4 million sq ft recorded in Q1 2016 in the top 8 Indian cities,” the consultant said in a statement.

The decline was primarily due to delays in quality supply during the quarter, it added.

“While occupiers maintain a healthy outlook towards expansion and up-take of office space, constraints related to delays in occupancy certificates (OCs), and deferred construction schedules by developers in most cities led to the significant drop in net absorption during Q1 2017,” C&W said.

 

Read more: Indiatoday