Office space demand trends, Property consultants differ

Global property consultants like DTZ, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE, etc. are coming up with contrasting reports regarding the office space demand.
Office space demand rises or falls, experts vary.

Office space demand rises or falls, experts vary.

BANGALORE: A recent report of CB Richard Ellis, a US based property consultant, stated that the office space absorption in India rose by 37%. The rise is on a year-to year basis. In the opinion of CBRE, January 2013 witnessed higher demand.

Meanwhile another American property consultant stated that the office space demand is down by 37%. This report of Cushman & Wakefield was absolutely on the opposite of what the CBRE report.

The reports of Jones Lang Lasalle and DTZ India are also not complementing each other. While JLL speaks of a moderate demand, DTZ speaks of a fall in the demand.

As per the report of JLL, office space demand is more or same. Compared to the first quarter of 2012 the demand is moderate this year. The report of JLL stated that in most of the cities the demand for office space remained moderate.

As per DTZ India the office space absorption is down by 20%. Anshul Jain, CEO at DTZ India, said that only 4.8 million of office space was absorbed this year. This is 20% lower than the 6 million sq. ft. absorption of 2012. Continue reading

Study says that MNCs surpass Indian firms in office space uptake.

With bearish sentiment affecting corporate expansion plans in the country’s financial capital, there has been a steep decline in the commercial real estate taken up by Indian companies. In contrast, multinational companies (MNCs) have picked up considerable office space here.

The latest report by property advisor DTZ comparing the trends in the first quarter of 2012 to the same period last year shows a noticeable change in the profile of the commercial real estate occupier in Mumbai. Between January and March 2012, Indian corporate firms account for 29 per cent of occupiers of new commercial realty space in the city. This is a sharp fall from the 71 per cent market share of new space that these corporates picked up in the corresponding period in 2011.

In comparison, US- and Europe-based corporates were responsible for taking up 5 and 18 per cent of the space in the first quarter of 2011 respectively. In the same period this year, their market share has gone up by 32 and 23 per cent respectively.

According to Rohit Kumar, DTZ research head, an analysis of quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year office space take-up highlights the fact that relative market share of MNCs based out of USA and Europe has increased significantly while that of their Indian counterparts has dropped. “Be it IT, ITES or Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BSFI), the MNCs find India relatively cheaper in terms of labour and real estate. On the other hand, despite the positive growth signals from the US and Europe, Indian corporates are more conservative, fearing the return of recession,” said Kumar.

Union Budget 2012-13: Buying or building of a house will cost more.

Realty players said that purchase or construction of a house would now cost more due to expected rise in prices of key raw materials cement and steel and a hike in service tax by 2 per cent.Barring low-cost housing, property prices are expected to rise in the coming days after the proposed hike in service tax from 10 per cent to 12 per cent.

TDS at the rate of 1 per cent on transfer of immovable property (other than agricultural land) above a specified threshold will also add to the cost of buying a house. The threshold would be over Rs 50 lakh an urban areas and Rs 20 lakh elsewhere, according to the budget proposals.

Cement and steel manufacturers have already hinted at a price hike after the Budget proposed raising the excise duty to 12 per cent.

Commenting on the budget proposals, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) Chairman Pradeep Jain said, “Application of TDS on the purchase and sale of property and increasing Service Tax by 2 per cent will further add on to the overall cost of property and are bound to make property more costly in coming days.”

Realty consultant DTZ said that increase in the service tax is going to further increase marginally the overall burden on the home buyers of mid and high segment (dwellings costing more than 25 lakh). The impact of service tax would be about Rs 40,000 on a Rs 75 lakh home.

However, DTZ said that affordable housing, being part of negative list, is exempted from service tax and the move would give a boost to the affordable housing segment.

Jones Lang LaSalle India Chairman and Country Head Anuj Puri said that “the increase in the service tax rate from 10 per cent to 12 per cent will increase the cost of production for developers, who are already reeling under high input costs. It follows that this increased burden will be passed on to end users”.