Mumbai office absorption 2.93 million sq ft, country’s highest for April-June

MUMBAI: Mumbai, the country’s commercial capital, recorded over 2.93 million sq ft of office space absorption in April-June, showed a report by property consultancy Colliers International.

The regained trust of multinational corporations from banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), IT/ITeS, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, media & entertainment sector helped in breaking the monotony of low absorption since January-March 2013.

Occupiers from BFSI & IT/ITeS, alone took over 1.91 million sq ft, followed by manufacturing & pharmaceutical 0.61 million sq ft and media & entertainment 0.20 million sq ft, the report showed.

This massive increase in absorption helped in confidence among investors as well as the developers and resulted in launch of new projects. As of beginning third quarter of 2015, more than 11 million sq ft of Grade A office supply is available in the market, Colliers added.

With clarity coming over IT/ITeS policy this quarter, absorption is likely to improve in near future with BFSI and IT/ITeS occupiers looking for office space. Rents are expected to remain stable across Mumbai’s micro markets except for a few premium buildings, which will attract a premium due to their location and higher specifications due to their locations and high specs.

According to Colliers, Andheri (East) and BKC micro market will continue to be the most preferred office location among occupiers on the back of connectivity, infrastructure and availability of grade A stock.