HYDERABAD: Low rents coupled with a steady influx of businesses has pushed Hyderabad’s office space market to the top of the charts. According to Anarock Research’s report, the city clocked maximum leasing activity — across seven metros in India — during 2021-22, with the net office absorption touching 7.85 million sft.
“To its advantage, Hyderabad offers the lowest office rentals in comparison to top markets in south India including Chennai and Bengaluru. The average rentals in the city, in 2021-22, stood at 58 per sft. It is the second lowest price among all top seven cities in the country,” said
Anuj Puri
, chairman of Anarock Group.
Apart from A grade offices, the demand for coworking too is witnessing a rise among corporates and businesses in Hyderabad, the report indicates. “Breaking all conventional norms, even big daddies of the corporate world are now scouting for more flexible and cost-effective workspaces. They prefer small teams on specific projects that are cost-effective and more viable in today’s uncertainties,” Puri added.
But while the city, driven by the current rate of absorption, also witnessed a slew of new launches — it has 11.8 million sft of new office space enter the market, second highest after Bengaluru — the rush has created more vacancies. From 12.8% in 2020-21 it jumped to 15.7% in 2021-22.
While one section of experts see this as no reason for concern, some others fear that the gap might widen further.