Office occupancy rates have reached 65% in the Asia Pacific region, compared to 50% in the US and Europe
A new study by CBRE has revealed that companies operating in Asia Pacific (Apac) are at the forefront of returning to office, with utilisation levels in the region hitting 65% at the end of March this year. Comparatively to Europe and the US and Europe had a utilization level of fifty%. The study from March to May included over 130 real estate executives in corporate in Apac from more than 80 companies.
A majority (48%) of respondents polled said they would prefer to see employees back to work as opposed with 40% in those in the US as well as the 43% of respondents from Europe. “Corporate management at Apac is focused on getting employees back into work, since they hold an unshakeable conviction that working in an office can improve collaboration and enhance satisfaction,” the report adds.
Marina View Residences district in the prime District 01, Singapore’s Central Region. It is along Union Street and Shenton Way.
Office attendance is different across the region in the region, with CBRE noting that the markets of Greater China, Korea and Japan exhibit 70% utilization rates% and office usage is still lower than sixty% across the Pacific.
Hybrid work is still the new norm, even though organizations are reportedly changing their approach to workers spending more time at work. The study shows the fact that 34% of the companies that were surveyed in 2023 expect employees to work working full-time in their offices decreasing from 38% in the previous year. But, there has seen a decline in the number of businesses which allow equal time for working at home and in the office, dropping up from% by 2022 and dropping to% the year before.
More businesses are looking to have employees primarily working from offices (three or more working days per week) and 32% of companies polled in 2023 aiming to have this happen, as in contrast to 24% for 2022. CBRE believes that a certain amount of flexibility will be a part of the future, predicting that attendance at offices in Apac will be at 10% up to fifteen% lower than levels pre-pandemic for a long time.
Although leasing strategy is expected to be more cautious in the short-term due to the ongoing uncertainty in the economy, CBRE says that 44% of Apac companies that were surveyed are planning to expand their office portfolios in the three years ahead, indicating that they have a keen appetite to expand. Most of these firms intend to expand their portfolio by 10% to 30%% up to 30%.
Regarding office space requirements 64% of respondents would prefer to have offices in buildings that have been certified for environmental governance, social and environmental (ESG) and 52% wanted to allocate a larger portion than a quarter of their property portfolios to flexible spaces. Flexible space remains a means to improve portfolio agility businesses are expecting flexible spaces to account for 25% of their overall property portfolio in 2025. That’s which is up from around 14% in the present.” CBRE’s director of research on occupiers Ada Choi.