New York Remains Most Expensive Market-Per-Desk For Flexible Workspace Globally; Flexible Space Is 5 Percent Of Overall Office Market, According To Global Cities Report By The Instant Group

Flexible workspace demand increased 19 percent on average last year in 18 top cities; larger requirements (10+ desks) now 20 percent of total market demand

News provided by

The Instant Group

Jul 08, 2019, 13:42 ET

NEW YORK, July 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Instant Group (Instant), a global flexible workspace specialist helping clients procure and manage their offices in more than 2,280 cities across 153 countries, has released its annual Global Cities report analyzing the market for flexible workspaces - including co-working, serviced and hybrid centers – in the top 18 markets for flexible workspace around the world.

"The market for flexible workspace is becoming increasingly sophisticated as operators go after the corporate market. Requirements are being taken for longer, client demand is becoming more nuanced, and operators are responding because of their agile business models," explained Tim Rodber, CEO of the Instant Group. "Now we are seeing the market evolve outside of the CBDs of the leading cities."

Key findings include:

Pricing

New York remains the most expensive market per-desk in the world, averaging $1,063 per desk, despite a decrease in desk rates of four percent. The decrease is largely accounted for by a supply increase year-on-year of 21 percent, much of which was in Brooklyn and Queens, which have lower rates.
San Francisco had the second highest cost-per-desk, at $951 per desk, on average, despite a decrease in desk rates of 12 percent.
Pricing has cooled by an average of 5 percent across the 18 cities analyzed.

"Overall, we have seen that in markets that have seen supply increase by more than 20 percent, those same markets have seen reductions in average desk pricing, largely because the growth accounts for new flexible workspaces outside the primary office market, which as such have lower costs-per-desk," said Rodber.

Supply and Demand

Both flexible workspace demand from clients and flexible workspace supply increased 19 percent on average last year.
Demand for flexible space was almost double the global average in Berlin, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Vancouver year-on-year.

Market Share

Of the 18 cities analyzed, flexible space represents 5 percent of overall office space, showing immense future growth potential despite already significant surges in growth and supply. Instant's forecast suggests that it could take up between 30 percent and 40 percent of total office space in the next decade.

Corporate Demand

Larger requirements for 10 or more desks now make up around 20 percent of the total market demand.
Requirements more than one year are still above the global cities average in London, New York City, and Chicago, but are lower in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The cities represented in the report include Tokyo, Mumbai, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong Island, Shanghai, Singapore, New York, Dubai, Madrid, Paris, London, Toronto, Berlin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Beijing, and Chicago.

For information on other regions around the world as well as The Instant Group's full report, please visit https://www.theinstantgroup.com/media/2019/global_cities_2019_final_us.pdf.

About The Instant Group

The Instant Group is a workspace innovation company that rethinks workspace on behalf of its clients, placing more than 11,000 companies a year in flexible workspace such as serviced, managed or co-working offices. Its listings' platform www.instantoffices.com hosts more than 14,000 flexible workspace centers across the world and is the only site of its kind to represent the global market, providing a service to FTSE 100, Fortune 500, and SME clients. www.theinstantgroup.com

SOURCE The Instant Group