Knowledge Hub

Key Trends

• Slower economic growth and inflationary pressure weigh on leasing activity

• Mainland China see mild recovery but other markets flat or weaker

• Finance, tech and coworking remain major demand drivers

• Rising construction and fit-out costs cause delays to new supply

• Flight to quality relocation still most popular strategy

• Occupiers set to remain cost cautious as economic worries mount

This report was originally published in https://www.cbre.com/insights/figures/asia-pacific-office-trends-q3-2022

• The Asia Pacific flexible office space market continued to display cautious growth in 2022, with the total volume of flexible office space in the region reaching 76 million sq. ft. as of September, an increase of 6% y-o-y on 2021 and 15% on pre-pandemic levels.

• As of September, flexible office space accounted for about 4% of total office stock and 3% of total Grade A office stock in Asia Pacific. In the Grade A segment, India and Singapore reported the highest penetration of flexible office space, while most North Asian markets are just below 2%.

• Tech firms and business services companies remain the top corporate users of flexible office space. Interest is also growing among financial, life science and consumer product firms.

• Trends that will continue to shape the flexible office landscape in 2023 include:

1. Flexible space operators offering on-demand memberships to cater to more dispersed workforces resulting from the widespread adoption of hybrid work
2. Growing occupier demand for customised enterprise and turnkey solutions to mitigate rising fit out costs and CapEx constraints
3. The use of asset-light strategies as flexible space operators form partnership with landlords using management contracts

This report was originally published in https://www.cbre.com/insights/briefs/h2-2022-asia-pacific-flexible-office-market-deliberate-growth-continues

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GDI Property Group (GDI), an Australian listed REIT headquartered in New South Wales, Australia, is currently constructing Perth’s first hybrid mass timber and steel frame office building. GDI will utilize a mix of cross laminated timber and steel to construct WS2, an 11 story, 9,500 square meter office building with the goal of creating a best-in-class, sustainably focused asset.

GDI underwent extensive research to understand both the environmental and economic impacts of developing what they’re calling Perth’s most environmentally friendly premium grade office building. Upon completion in late 2022, WS2 will boast a 5-star NABERS Energy Rating, a 5-star Greenstar Rating and will show a reduction of carbon by approximately 50% over the building’s lifespan vs. a similar al concrete/steel-based building and a reduction of 80% embodied carbon during the construction phase. This reduction will be captured through a combination of offsets, renewable energy systems within the building, and significantly lower embodied carbon during the construction phase. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve net zero operation, lowering scope one and two emissions, while achieving a better economic outcome as timber construction is “quicker and cheaper to build on a Total NLA Basis” according to the company in their 10 November presentation.

Almost three years after the onset of the global pandemic, the retail industry has been through one the biggest stress tests imaginable, but best-in-class real estate has remained robust – and even emerged stronger in some markets.

Cushman & Wakefield's flagship Main Streets Across the World report tracks the top retail districts across 92 cities and ranks the most expensive by prime rental value. An annual report until 2019, this year’s report is the first since then, allowing insight into comparative performance pre- and post-pandemic.