Bengaluru Leads Net Office Absorption in APAC

Bengaluru topped the charts with a net absorption of 0.5 million square meters in H1 2020. It was also Asia Pacific’s second largest Grade A office market by stock after Tokyo. Bengaluru saw gross absorption of 172,000 sq m in the second quarter. Delhi-NCR was also firm, although Mumbai slowed down noticeably, says a report by Colliers International. At least seven major Indian cities saw gross leasing fall by only 36 percent over H1 2020 as a whole despite a lengthy national lockdown. Bengaluru led the way with new supply of 641,000 sq m, followed by Delhi-NCR at 445,000 sq m. Over the period 2022-24, growth in office space demand in APAC will be led by both India and China. It is anticipated that most south India markets will see sharp recoveries and growth in 2021. Going forward, for Bengaluru, Colliers predicts new supply of 1.9 million sq m in 2020, up 24 percent year-on-year. For Delhi-NCR, it predicts new supply of 1.68 million sq m in 2020, up more than three times from 2019 and the highest level in three years. Outlook for the next five years expects new supply in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR to remain above 1 million sq m annually. In contrast, new supply in Mumbai might settle at around 540,000 sq m per annum.