Gross Office Leasing In Delhi-NCR Jumps, Over 2.5 Fold In Jan-Mar: Report

The gross leasing of office space in Delhi-NCR market jumped more than 2.5 times to 1.8 million square feet during January-March on improved demand from corporates and co-working operators, according to Colliers. Office leasing stood at 7,00,000 square feet in the January-March period of last year.

The new supply of office space fell 10 per cent to 1 million square feet from 1.1 million square feet. The Delhi-NCR has a total stock of office space of 118.7 million square feet at the end of the last month. "Gurugram led office leasing activity accounting for almost 72 per cent share in Q1 2022; DLF Cybercity emerged as the most preferred micromarket," Colliers India said in its Delhi-NCR Office Market Snapshot for Grade-A (premium) properties.

Vacancy remained stable led by steady leasing amidst moderate supply, it added. "Upcoming supply in Q1 2022 is likely to be concentrated on NH-48, Golf Course Extension Road and Noida Expressway," Colliers said. The vacancy of office space stood at 23.5 per cent during the first quarter of the 2022 calendar year. The average monthly rent stood at Rs 91.6 per square feet. In Delhi-NCR, the major developers who provides offices on lease include DLF, Brookfield, Bharti Realty and Max group firm Max Estates. DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd, which is a joint venture between DLF and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, has several office buildings across Gurugram.

Recently, global investment firm Brookfield bought 51 per cent stake in Bharti Enterprises' four commercial properties, including Worldmark at Aerocity in the national capital, at an enterprise value of Rs 5,000 crore. Max Estates has two commercial projects - 'Max Towers' in Noida and Max House in Okhla, Delhi. Max Estates has entered into a partnership with New York Life Insurance Company for its third commercial project in Delhi-NCR named Max Square.

Coworking firms that have a major presence in the NCR are WeWork, Smartworks, Skootr Global, The Executive Centre, Simpliwork, Awfis and The Office Pass among others. According to Colliers report, the gross office space leasing across top six cities rose sharply to 13 million square feet in January-March 2022 from 4.7 million square feet in the year-ago period, while supply doubled to 14.3 million square feet from 7 million square feet. The six cities tracked by the Colliers India are: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad and Pune.

The total office space stocks in these six cities is 601 million square feet. "This quarter has seen occupiers' confidence swinging back with considerable large-sized deals that accounted for a whopping 55 per cent of the leasing during the quarter. This clearly shows that occupiers are consolidating offices as they prepare for workplace-led innovation and collaboration," Colliers India CEO Ramesh Nair said. This strong leasing comes at a time when occupiers in India have started opening their doors to employees after a hiatus of two years, he added. "Q2 2022 will be a crucial period as we expect more companies to open up workplaces. If the overall leasing momentum continues, then the year 2022 is likely to be a promising year," Nair said.

(PTI)