By Robert Carr, National Real Estate Investor
Growth in the office sector is forcing corporate executives to try to move in two directions at once—finding efficiency to cut costs, while also expanding and upgrading the office environment to attract new talent.
Concerns about creating attractive workplaces have increased as hiring has improved in recent months. Employers added 242,000 positions in February, including 29,000 positions in professional and business services, a steady pace of growth. The amount of underused workspaces continues to dwindle as occupancies and rents increase, according to a recent report from brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap.
“Further staff expansions may necessitate a reconsideration of tenants’ space requirements, providing a lift to space demand as leases for larger layouts are executed and move-ins take place,” according to the report.
A new survey by commercial real estate services firm CBRE delineates the workplace challenges, including the wide differences seen in space considerations by the traditional office users such as financial firms and the new office designs sought by technology companies to attract and retain workers.
In this expansion cycle, most respondents to CBRE’s Americas Occupier Survey listed talent availability as the most important consideration in their real estate decisions. However, efficiency and cutting real estate costs were also top concerns.
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