The gradual improvement of the global economy, has seen speculators in the office market, jostling for prime spots in choice locations and continents.
According to the recent CBRE's semi-annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey,Asia is at the top, as the world’s most expensive office location.
According to Richard Barkham, Global Chief Economist for CBRE Group, "Occupier caution has declined and corporate confidence has been on the rise, and this confidence is starting to translate into a degree of expansionary momentum."
Barkham also added that "At the same time, many office markets are increasingly short of the quality, modern, flexible and highly accessible or CBD-located office buildings which corporations are seeking to execute workplace strategies that will drive productivity and attract or retain talent."
Commenting on Asia’s dominance, Henry Chin, Head of Research, CBRE Asia Pacific said "in the Asia Pacific region, occupancy cost trends were mixed, with regional surveys showing stronger hiring intentions among employers in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Japan while corporate hiring activity remained muted in other locations. India and the Philippines also continued to benefit from growing IT back office services looking for operational and costs efficiency. Throughout Asia, technology firms, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and non-banking financial institutions are in expansionary mode, stimulating demand for office space. However, we are also seeing diverse occupier activity in the region with less expansionary markets--some occupiers are looking to optimise existing accommodations rather than expand."
Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent, and it has the second largest nominal Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of all continents, after Europe, but the largest when measured in purchasing power parity.