Flex office space market rebounds in Q3, further growth seen despite economic headwinds: CBRE

FLEXIBLE workspaces are back in business post-pandemic, with further growth “imminent” despite rising economic headwinds, according to real estate consultancy CBRE Research. 

In a report on the flex space sector released on Friday (Nov 25), CBRE noted that occupancy at flex space centres recovered to a “healthy (average) level” of 80 to 90 per cent by the third quarter of 2022, from the average of 50 to 60 per cent during the pandemic. This has, in turn, encouraged operators of such office properties – including serviced offices as well as co-working space – to “source for new sites, leading to renewed growth in the flex space market”, said CBRE. 

There is also a return of confidence in the flex space market, noted CBRE, with leasing volume of operators amounting to 150,000 square feet (sq ft) between January and September 2022, well beyond 2021’s entire volume of 120,000 sq ft.