Mumbai Office Space Absorption to Reach 132m Sq ft by 2017

Following the revival of the economy after recent general elections, real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield expect as much as 132 million square feet of Mumbai office space to be absorbed by 2017.

This office space, spread across eight major metro stations, is expected to prove attractive to investors and potential occupiers.

The report by Cushman & Wakefield also revealed, however, that the last quarter of 2013 will see a 26 per cent fall in office space absorption, due to the ongoing economic slump.

Office space supply between 2013 and 2017 in India's top 8 cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune is expected to be around 143 million square feet.

"The office market is expected to remain attractive for occupiers with steady increase in absorption after a trend of decline in 2013.

"With the economy expecting more stability in the post-election phase from 2015, the absorption trend is also expected to pick pace especially in established markets of Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR," Cushman & Wakefield executive managing director for South Asia Sanjay Dutt said.

Dutt said that the commercial office sector has seen substantial deferment of supply in the recent times due to slack in demand and delays in regulatory clearances.

"Similar trend is expected to continue in the next few years owing to issues such as demand from occupiers as well as funding issues that developers have been facing," he added.