Knowledge Hub

2023 has brought about the implementation of favorable political and economic policies along with the revitalization of domestic demand and investment. As such, Greater China, the largest emerging market, is set to experience a significant rebound. The new economy real estate industry presents burgeoning growth potential.

Jointly released by Tricor and Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA), ‘New Economy Real Estate in China – Market Review & Operational Guide 2023’ offers a thorough analysis of China’s new economy real estate industry, with specific emphasis on the logistics real estate market. It provides insights into the current market landscape, growth trajectory, and anticipates future trends.

Focusing on three key aspects, Engage, Evolve and Accelerate, the report provides real estate strategies being made by some of the leading global companies to strengthen processes, build resilience, and meet complex needs, with the aim to enrich the workplace experience.

During this time of heightened uncertainty, this report provides potential real estate strategies with recommendations for occupiers to:

• Engage: Preparing workplaces and workforces for change
• Evolve: Meeting future space needs and the demands of a hybrid workforce
• Accelerate: Applying technology to advance change and drive performance

Key highlights

• Across industries, occupiers are in the process of reassessing their current office footprint to determine the most optimal mix for their employees.
• More than 65% of workers are seeking more in-person time with their teams, while 70% of workers want flexible work options to continue.
• 66% of business decision-makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments.
• The growing urgency to attract and retain talent is prompting companies to consider alternative workplace solutions and new locations.
• Flex space has been brought to the forefront by the hybrid working model and has helped occupiers optimize costs and ensure employee flexibility.
• Integration of smart technology, digital infrastructure and smart facilities can help attract tenants and achieve greater operational efficiency, reduce energy consumption and higher customer retention.
• Companies across the globe are investing ESG and DEI initiatives, including green design, tech-enabled features that promote higher health & safety, wellbeing amenities, and inclusive workplace environments.
• Demand for green certified buildings will continue to rise as occupiers continue to seek eco-friendly buildings that meet environmental, energy, and health standards in their design, construction, and performance.

As the Asia Pacific region exits the pandemic and business activity returns to normal, corporate occupiers are placing more emphasis on employee productivity and on increasing office utilisation. With workplace transformation underway, there is strong demand to adapt and “build a better office” to meet the fast-evolving needs of employees and senior management. Additionally, occupiers should be actively identifying new opportunities and strategies to future-proof their portfolios. CBRE’s 2023 Asia Pacific Office Occupier Sentiment Survey, which features insights from more than 130 corporate real estate executives in the region, from more than 80 multinational and domestic companies, delves deeper into the future of work and the changing role of the office.Key findings include: 

• Policy on hybrid working is tightening
  • 68% of C-suites are focusing on increasing office attendance or improving work efficiency
  • 66% have policy enforcement on office attendance, including performance and financial consequences
     
• Companies are future-proofing their portfolio
  • 44% expect their CRE portfolio to grow in the next three years
  • Public transportation access, onsite F&B and sustainable building features are the most desired building features
     
• ‘Flight-to-green’ is becoming the next norm
  • 64% want to expand into ESG-certified buildings
  • 47% want to include data sharing in green leases
     
• Demand for a more refined workplace is increasing
  • 48% have adopted flexible seating; this is expected to increase to 80% by 2025
  • Increasing demand for focus space and small-sized meeting rooms

This report was originally published in https://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/asia-pacific-major-report-2023-asia-pacific-office-occupier-sentiment-survey

Insolvency resolution has been a bane for Indian policy makers and real estate lenders alike, with a poor track record in terms of recoveries and timeliness before the implementation of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

In our latest report, we examine the development of the IBC relevance, impact and challenges faced in resolving insolvencies in the real estate sector. Our key findings deal with:

Resolution rates in Real Estate within IBC, compared to other sectors.

• Recovery rate, as a proportion of claims, where resolution has been achieved
• Key challenges specific to resolution of real estate stress
• Way forward in resolving real estate insolvencies

Global super-prime ($10m+) residential sales bounced back in Q1 2023, with 417 sales across the 12 markets tracked in Knight Frank’s Global Super-Prime Intelligence report, up 11% on the 376 recorded in Q4 2022 and the highest volume since Q2 last year.

This report was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com.au/research/global-super-prime-intelligence-q1-2023-10221.aspx

Rents in global luxury residential markets are continuing to see strong growth. The Knight Frank Prime Global Rental Index rose by 8.5% in the 12 months to March this year – with rents in a majority of markets hitting new records.

This report was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com.au/research/prime-global-rental-index-q1-2023-10269.aspx

• The Asia Pacific flex space market continues to display stable growth, with the total volume of flexible office space in the region reaching 87 million sq. ft. as of March 2023, an increase of 6% from September 2022.
   
• New flex space supply in Delhi NCR and Bangalore accelerated from 2022, with the two cities witnessing the addition of a combined 3.1 million sq. ft. of stock in Q1 2023. With leasing by flex space operators remaining robust in Q1 2023, the pace of new flex centre openings over the remainder of the year in these two markets is expected to be brisk. Weaker markets included Melbourne, where the potential insolvency of a local flex space operator resulted in a drop in flex office stock.
   
• Flex office penetration in the overall office market was steady at about 4% as of the end of March 2023. The proportion of flex space in Grade A office stock continued to increase, rising to 3.5% from 3.1% in September 2022, reflecting strong demand from flex space operators seeking to upgrade their centres to Grade A office buildings. 
   
• Ongoing economic uncertainty is strengthening the importance of portfolio flexibility and prompting a greater focus on cost management, driving occupier demand for flex space. CBRE’s 2023 Asia Pacific Occupier Survey found that more than half of respondents believe their portfolios to be under-allocated to flexible office space and intend to increase their use of it.
   
• Other key trends observed by CBRE in H1 2023 include tech firms’ continued dominance of usership of flex office space; CapEx concerns driving a preference for dedicated space such as enterprise solutions and strong demand for event space and access passes.

This report was originally published in https://www.cbre.com/insights/briefs/agile-real-estate-infographic-h1-2023-asia-pacific-flexible-office-market