Asia Pacific companies lead the return to office: CBRE

As companies in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region take the lead in the return to the office, a survey by CBRE has revealed that office utilisation rates in the region have reached 65% as of March this year. This is significantly higher than the 50% office utilisation rate observed in the US and Europe. Conducted from March to May, the survey gathered responses from 130 corporate real estate executives in APAC from more than 80 companies.

Almost half (48%) of the respondents prioritised getting employees back in the office, as compared to 40% and 43% for the US and Europe respectively. This shows that corporate management in APAC is more focused on reversing the pandemic-driven effects on in-office work sincethey still believe it to be the most effective way of boosting collaboration and engagement.

Additionally, the survey also found that office attendance varies across the region. As per the results, markets in Greater China, Korea and Japan show utilization rates of around 70%, while the Pacific region comes in below 60%.

Results from the survey also suggest that hybrid working is on the rise again. In 2023, 34% of the companies surveyed require employees to be in the office full-time, a decline from 38% last year. This reduction in the demand of companies allowing an equal split between work-from-home and in-office is further highlighted by the number dropping from 28% in 2022 to 22% in 2023.

However, it appears that office attendance in the APAC region is expected to remain 10-15% lower than pre-pandemic levels in the near future. Nevertheless, 44% of the companies surveyed planned to increase their office portfolio over the next three years, indicating a strong expansionary appetite. Most of these are expecting to expand their portfolio by 10-30%.

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Moreover, 64% of the survey respondents said they wanted to occupy offices in buildings certified for environmental, social and governance (ESG). Additionally, the demand for flexible space is expected to rise, with 52% of the surveyed companies seeking to allocate more of their portfolio to it. CBRE further predicts that a quarter of the overall real estate portfolio of companies will be made up of flexible space by 2025, up from about 14% currently.