In the third quarter of 2021, India’s office building transactions recorded strong quarterly growth, despite the imminent threat of more serious second and third waves of infections.

According to Knight Frank’s third quarter office market update report for the third quarter of 2021, the total office space in major cities in the third quarter was 1.2 million square meters (12.5 million square feet), a year-on-year increase of 168%. The report mentioned that compared with the same period last year, in 2021 (January to September 2021), the office market transaction volume increased by 13%, and the completion of new office buildings increased by 6%. As Indian companies take major steps to resume office work, increase vaccination rates and reduce liquidity restrictions, they have improved the business environment and helped restore the pre-pandemic market traction levels. Knight Frank India pointed out that in the third quarter of 2021, the total office transactions in eight markets in India improved, reaching 83% of the 2019 quarterly average.

Among the larger markets, Chennai, Bangalore, and the National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the highest recovery in the third quarter of 2021, with transaction volumes reaching 123%, 112%, and 93% of the 2019 quarterly average. The IT department was the largest consumer of space this quarter, accounting for 34% of the transaction space. Increased transaction activity in this industry is an extremely encouraging driver of office demand, as it is the most prolific tenant category in the office market. This quarter, tenants occupied nearly 23,500 co-office seats in eight markets, the highest this year. “After the second wave threatened the derailment of the market in the previous quarter, the Indian office market experienced a strong recovery in the third quarter of 2021.

Based on the 2019 quarterly average, the transaction volume achieved in this quarter is also statistically significant because Office transaction volume was at a historic high that year.” Knight Frank India company CMD Shishir Baijal said. New completions have also increased significantly, with 1.1 million square meters (11.9 million square feet) delivered in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 67% year-on-year. Bangalore, Pune, and Hyderabad accounted for 73% of the newly completed area, with Bangalore having the largest area delivered at 400,000 square meters (4 million square feet). From January to September 2021, the number of new construction completions increased by 6% compared to the same period last year. In the second wave of COVID-19, newly completed projects were hit by a shortage of labor.

News Source : Construction Week Online