'Leasing of space at 18.2 mn sq ft in top 9 cities during Jun quarter'

Leasing of office space in top nine cities rose 61 per cent during the June quarter to record 18.2 million square feet from the previous quarter on better demand, according to a report.

Real estate consultant CBRE on Monday releases its office leasing data for April-June (Q2) of 2022.

"...office sector leasing in India recorded the highest-ever activity with a strong performance in Q2 2022," CBRE said in a statement.

The gross leasing of office space jumped 220 per cent from the same period of the last year.

"The office sector in India reflected a strong recovery in H1 (January-June) 2022 as occupier sentiments were uplifted due to the relatively reduced severity of the Omicron wave, the subsequent relaxation of restrictions, and improved economic activity," Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO -India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa at CBRE, said.

He expected the annual office space absorption for 2022 to be higher than 2021.

CBRE said that the absorption in H1 (January-June) 2022 rose 158 per cent annually to touch 29.5 million square feet as compared to H1 2021.

Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad together accounted for about two-thirds of the transaction activity during the quarter and H1 2022, it added.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the leasing of office space in Delhi-NCR jumped more than two times to 3.9 million square feet during April-June 2022 from the January-March period of this year.

Mumbai saw 183 per cent rise in office leasing to 2.1 million square feet.

The gross office leasing in Bengaluru rose 59 per cent to 5.6 million square feet, while Hyderabad saw 88 per cent rise in leasing to 2.6 million square feet.

Pune witnessed 48 per cent growth in leasing to 1.7 million square feet from the previous quarter.

The office leasing in Kolkata rose 155 per cent to 0.5 million square feet. In Kochi, the office leasing jumped multi-fold to 0.1 million square feet.

Ahmedabad saw 76 per cent growth in leasing to 0.3 million square feet during April-June from the preceeding quarter.