Office rentals in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru to decline slowly compared to 2020: Knight Frank

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Notwithstanding the uncertainty in the workplace in India, real estate consultancy major Knight Frank feels that rents in the office space sector in Mumbai, NCR and Bengaluru will remain stable in the next 12 months.

Of the 22 cities surveyed in the Asia Pacific region, office rents are expected to rise only in one city, while as many as 13 would dip and eight would remain the same.

3% overall decline

Knight Frank said the decline in rents will slow down in 2021. On an average, rents might go down by 3% in the region, compared to a decline of 4.8% suffered in 2020.

The consultancy firm said on May 12 that in the January–March 2021 quarter office rents in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex witnessed a decline in office rents of 0.8% quarter-on-quarter compared to 5.5% in the previous quarter.

The rate of decline also reduced in the central business district of Bengaluru encompassing areas such as MG Road, Infantry Road, and Residency Road. The rents here suffered a decline of 3% quarter-on-quarter in January-March 2021 against a dip of 4% in October-December of 2020.

Connaught Place

Office rentals at Connaught Place in the National Capital Region remained flat in January-March quarter of 2021 compared to a decline of 1% in October-December quarter in 2020.

“The second wave of pandemic and associated regional lockdowns have temporarily delayed re-occupancy plans of office occupiers. However, control on infection case count with graded regional lockdowns and progress on vaccination drive will act as a market stabiliser in near future. Given the strong fundamentals of India office market, despite the near-term uncertainty, occupiers will positively react to any improvement in the pandemic scenario in the country,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India.

Taipei an exception

Taipei is the only city in a list of 22 that is expected to register a rise – 1% year-on-year – in the Asia Pacific region.

The cities that are supposed to suffer a dip are Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Manila.

Knight Frank said the cities where rentals are expected to stay unchanged are Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Auckland, Tokyo, Beijing, Guangzhou, Seoul, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Mumbai, NCR and Phnom Penh.