Office space leasing is likely to hit 30-32 million square foot in 2022 equalling the average of last five years despite the ongoing spurt in Covid cases, international property consultancy JLL predicted, resting the argument on the strong pre-commitment made by occupiers for under construction offices slated to be delivered during this year.

A barometer for white collar job creation in the country and a trigger for wider economic activities, net absorption of office spaces shrank in 2020 and 2021 from the peak seen in 2019. As corporate houses adopted partial or full work-from-home models, taking up fresh space slowed down considerably. In 2020 and 2021, net absorption in seven major cities stood at 25.66 and 26.17 sq m ft, respectively.

“We forecast around 45-47 million sq. ft of upcoming supply in 2022 which is already pre-committed to the extent of 25-26 per cent. The top developers (based on city-level Grade A office space ownership and well-known national/regional brands), are expected to contribute around 58 per cent to this upcoming supply and have recorded pre-commitment rates of nearly 42-45 per cent, which again signifies the long-term outlook for business and need for offices among occupiers,” said Samantak Das, chief economist and head research and REIS, India, JLL.

Office demand over the last two years was driven by IT and ITeS companies, manufacturing and flex space operators and the same trend is likely.

Bangaluru led the pack in total net absorption while Calcutta fared well in terms of percentage, albeit on a small base.

The city saw 0.57 mn sq ft in 2021, compared to 0.19 mn sq ft in 2020, going up by 201 per cent.