Thought Leadership

Cushman & Wakefield’s What Occupiers Want 2025, in collaboration with CoreNet Global, presents findings from over 235 global CRE leaders, offering a timely perspective on evolving workplace strategies, investment priorities, and the future of office space.

Key insights include:

• Cost remains king, continuing to drive real estate decisions across regions.
• Reporting lines are shifting, with nearly 30% of CRE teams now reporting into HR—reflecting growing alignment with people and culture agendas.
• Flexible hiring takes hold, as 61% of occupiers adopt geographically flexible recruitment strategies.
• Portfolios are stabilizing, with a decline in planned reductions and rising occupancy levels.
• Expectations from landlords are growing, with 85% of occupiers seeking enhanced amenities—and 46% willing to pay a premium.
• A call for better metrics: CRE leaders are urged to adopt holistic frameworks that link workplace decisions to business performance.

The global hotel industry is in a period of brand consolidation, with the world’s leading operators continuing to expand their footprint through new developments and brand strategies.

With hotel brand penetration still relatively low compared to the U.S. and Europe, Asia Pacific has become a key growth market.

CBRE Research estimates that 74% of Asia Pacific hotel supply between now and 2030 is aligned with one of the top 8 listed hotel companies – a significant increase over the currently operational market share of 18%.

Our latest report analyses the current state of the hotel brand landscape, and explores the brand strategies that owners and operators are pursuing to adapt to ever-changing market dynamics.

Singapore’s flexible workspace market has matured into a dynamic and diverse ecosystem, offering a broad range of solutions—from on-demand access for startups to fully managed suites for enterprises. This evolution reflects both the rising sophistication of occupier needs and the agility of operators in responding to them.

Today, with about 5% market penetration rate, the flex workspace market features a healthy mix of brand positions, ranging from premium hospitality-driven environments to value-oriented, efficiency-focused models. Our findings show that the top 10 brands (by market size) now command 80% of the market, with varied pricing and positioning offerings to meet the needs of businesses across all sizes and sectors. This ensures that companies can find workspaces aligned with their identity, culture, and operational goals.

Notably, flex space is increasingly integrated into asset strategies, with landlords and operators collaborating to enhance both building value and tenant experience. As the market continues to evolve, innovation and adaptability will be key to shaping the future of work. This report further explores what occupiers seek and how landlords and operators can continue to strengthen the value proposition of flexible workplaces in Singapore.

Evolving work patterns in the post-pandemic era, employees’ demands for a better workplace experience, the large regional supply pipeline and high vacancy, and the urgent need to enhance older properties to maintain their competitiveness are just a few of the factors converging to drive a new era of office innovation in Asia Pacific.

Supported and enabled by the latest technology, landlords and investors are striving to enhance tenants’ experience at every stage of their employees’ day; from the commute, to the work environment, and to the leisure offering.

Our latest report explains how innovation can drive these improvements via three pillars of office innovation:

• Implementing a Human-centric approach
• Introducing Physical enhancements
• Embracing Digital integration

The Asia Pacific data centre sector has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, evolving from what was formerly regarded as a mere piece of infrastructure to a highly sought-after real estate asset at the cutting edge of technology.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud services boom is driving robust demand for both colocation and hyperscale data centres across Asia Pacific, stirring interest from real estate investors keen to capitalise on this rapid expansion.

This report explores the key data centre investment trends, opportunities and outlook for the sector in Asia Pacific, and offers insights into the data centre occupier and investment markets in Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing is driving unprecedented demand for data centres across Asia Pacific. Despite expectations that data centre supply will double by 2028, the region still faces a shortfall of 15–25 gigawatts, primarily due to limited power availability and a shortage of AI-ready infrastructure.

AI workloads require over twice the power density of traditional setups, necessitating upgrades in cooling, floor load, latency, and bandwidth. Many current and planned facilities are not equipped to meet these new technical standards.

• The Japanese economy is stagnant but not in recession due to decline in demand caused by rising prices and slowdown in recovery of the Chinese economy.
• The market for for-sale real estate in Japan has recovered from the sudden slowdown caused by the impact of COVID-19, and the supply-demand balance has been barely maintained due to decline in demand caused by rising prices and decrease in supply accompanying rising costs despite rising interest rates.
• Hotels and retail properties in Japan continue to thrive following recovery from slowdown due to the impact of COVID-19, as the weak yen attributable to differences in monetary policy and other factors has stimulated inbound demand.
• In the rental market for office buildings in Japan, vacancy rates continue to decline slowly, and rents continue to rise gradually with some exceptions.
• Although transaction prices have been maintained, both the number of transactions and their amounts are slumping due to a decline in properties for sale, with some investors turning to a cautious stance.
• Comparing the economic growth rates and inflation rates of major advanced countries and developing countries, the former show similar fluctuations depending on the country and time period, while indicators for the later show diverse trends.
• Among the economic growth and inflation rate indicators of advanced countries, only Japan’s inflation rate shows a clear downward shift.
• Among the major countries compared, Japan‘s population has been on a long- term downward trend as natural decrease has not been fully compensated for by social increase.
• The populations of major countries continue to grow due to social growth, but the US population is thought to be rapidly increasing, including through illegal immigration, and the economic growth rate is expected to be swinging upward significantly.

CBRE’s latest Asia Pacific Leasing Market Sentiment Index reveals that overall leasing sentiment improved in Q1 2025, driven by a rise in office and retail demand:

• Office – Sentiment improves in multiple markets: Moderate increase in enquiries and site inspections across most markets, partly due to seasonal factors. While regional leasing activity continued to be dominated by renewal vs. relocation decisions, expansionary appetite for office space increased in India and Japan.
• Retail – Expansionary demand continues: Prime space in core locations underpinned improved leasing sentiment. However, rents in most markets were largely unchanged as retailers adopted a more cautious attitude towards real estate planning. 
• Industrial & Logistics – Tenant market persists: The overall market remains predominantly in favour of tenants amid slower leasing activity in mainland China and Hong Kong SAR. However, the period witnessed a moderate increase in site enquiries as selected occupiers sought cost-saving options for consolidation and downsizing.

Singapore is strengthening its position as a global capital market by leveraging its strategic location, regulatory incentives, and focus on emerging asset classes such as REITs, data centers, and logistics.

With the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s recent SGD 5 billion investment program and streamlined listing regulations, the city-state is enhancing liquidity and attracting more regional and international players. As de-globalization and geopolitical tensions shift capital flows, Singapore’s emphasis on innovation and diversification ensures its continued relevance in the global economy.

Despite near-term economic and geopolitical uncertainty, Asia Pacific’s economy continues to adapt to fluctuating conditions, including easing inflation and modest interest rate cuts in response to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s cuts in 2024. Foreign exchange sensitivities continue to play a role in fit out costs. Interest rates, which have shown a modest decline in in U.S. dollar terms, have risen by 5% on average in local currencies throughout APAC. Regional office demand is expected to remain stable, though supply will likely exceed demand and push vacancy rates upwards.