Office tenants in Singapore and Hong Kong expressed the highest level of satisfaction with their premises even though these markets have the most expensive rents in the region, according to Knight Frank’s second Office Occupier Survey for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
Overall, 30 percent of the respondents in the region said their current building is a perfect fit for their business , while only about 5 percent were highly unsatisfied with the space they are renting.
Meanwhile, rent is still the number one factor considered by nearly all Asia Pacific tenants, except for those in Thailand and Taiwan. This is followed by the image of the building, its proximity to mass transit systems, security, and closeness to amenities.
The least important factors in descending order are accessibility to employees, staff attraction/retention, nearness to clients and green credentials.
“Consistent with our findings last year, rent remains as the most important consideration,” said Ross Criddle, Knight Frank’s Head of Global Corporate Services for the Asia Pacific.
In particular, the top three considerations for firms in Singapore are rent, proximity to employees’ homes and the building’s green credentials, while Malaysian companies prioritise rent, closeness to amenities and proximity to employees’ homes.
Looking ahead, office leasing demand in the region is expected to grow as 66 percent of the respondents are anticipating a higher headcount over the next 12 months.
The survey involved 277 respondents from various industries across 9 Asia Pacific markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia
Source: CommercialGuru, Aug 5, 2015
