With a 7 per cent share of leasing in the first-half (H1) of calendar 2018, co-working operators have made an impact in the office services market. Use of co-working space is becoming a popular trend in leasing.

Besides its cost-effectiveness and flexibility, the increasing uncertainty among occupiers regarding their future headcount growth, is driving demand for co-working spaces. Colliers International expects the co-working concept to continue expanding notably in cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and NCR.

Maintaining the momentum of the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, office space absorption continued to boom in the second quarter. Robust leasing was witnessed in the Indian commercial realty market as 12.6 million square feet of space was absorbed in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018.

According to Colliers International, the overall absorption for H1 2018 now stands at around 24 million sq ft. Bengaluru continued to account for the highest share of absorption at 34 per cent in Q2, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) at 28 per cent, Mumbai at 14 per cent, Hyderabad and Chennai at 8 per cent each, Pune at 6 per cent, and Kolkata at 2 per cent.

Institutional investment in commercial assets also remained solid, with investors continuing to buy pre-leased buildings and buildings near completion. In Q2, the Indiabulls fund was reported to have bought Trivium, a 1.0 million sq ft (0.1 million sq m) multi-phase commercial development in Hyderabad. Blackstone LP acquired One Indiabulls Park (2.4 million sq ft or 0.22 million sq m) and Ascendas agreed to buy two towers in QPark technology park in Navi Mumbai.

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