Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bangalore tops office space absorption again

BANGALORE: Bangalore has topped the league table, outperforming the National Capital Region (NCR), in the total office space transactions across India in the first quarter of 2011, according to a report by real estate consultancy CB Richard Ellis.
With IT/ITeS firms revisiting their expansion plans in Bangalore, the IT hub accounted for almost 36% of office space absorption at over 2 million sft. The first quarter of 2011 witnessed an offtake of 6 mn sft across key market in the country, recording a 20% increase over the same period last year.
NCR took the second spot, accounting for 27% (more than 1.6 mn sft) of the total absorption .
In Bangalore, the peripheral business district of Outer Ring Road (ORR), Whitefield, Electronics City and North Bangalore have turned out to be office hotspots for companies on an expansion and consolidation drive. Almost 1.6 mn sft of fresh IT space was released into this market. The ORR market witnessed absorption of almost 0.62 million sft.
"Vacancy levels in Whitefield and ORR were high. Rentals were subdued, but they are firming up as some vacant properties have been absorbed," said Anshuman Magazine, MD, CB Richards Ellis.
Rentals of Grade A properties on ORR marginally increased from 42 per sft in December to Rs 44 per sft in March. Whitefield saw monthly rentals jump from Rs 24 per sft in December to Rs 30 per sft in March. The area has seen some key leasing activity. Biotech company Invitrogen Bio leased 28,000 sft in Tata Xylem building in Whitefield last year. Robert Bosch has taken up 91,000 sft in L&T Cyber Park in Electronics City.
The Central Business District (CBD), comprising of MG Road, Richmond Road, Residency Road and Lavelle Road, witnessed an increase in number of enquiries from corporate houses. Rentals for Grade A spaces have increased by 15% quarter-on-quarter , said the report . "There are basically smaller transactions . We have seen some big transactions like Microsoft leasing out 1 lakh sft on Lavelle Road last year. With Metro chugging on track, the CBD will see more rental action," Magazine said. Rentals for Grade A office spaces on M G Road and Residency Road increased from Rs 74 per sft in December to Rs 85 per sft in March this year.
The South Bangalore micro markets of Banerghatta Road, JP Nagar, and Jayanagar suffer from lack of supply, so has seen limited action. North Bangalore has seen some demand, but the area too suffers from lack of quality space, the report said.

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