The recent history of Indian CRE recorded a new set of audience, giving way to the CRE players to step up their game, innovate and create solutions that cater to this neonatal audience’s needs. The developing cities of India have loomed as an accelerator of CRE expansion where CRE players are experiencing a sprawling demand for managed offices, especially post-pandemic. A demand predominantly driven by the financial mileages of managed offices, the tier-2 and tier-3 markets are emerging as the new harbors of fast-paced CRE growth.
Accompanying the above are other critical influencers making way for flex workspaces amidst the hustled-bustled alleys of these developing Indian cities. Let’s take a closer look at each of them:
- Blooming start-ups in every nook and corner
The growth of start-ups in India has been exponential to the extent that India is now the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. Surprisingly, the number of Indian start-ups shot up during the pandemic when everyone was back in their hometowns, confined in the comforts of their homes. With normalcy returning, these start-ups will continue to operate from their cities to avoid exorbitant costs they’d have to pay in metro cities otherwise. - Growing adoption of hybrid work policy
The viability of working from home gradually faded as the world returned to normalcy. However, the perks of working from home cannot be disregarded completely. Choosing the mid-way, companies have adopted a hybrid or a distributed workforce strategy to get the best of both worlds. Now, companies not only focus on bringing employees back to the office but also bringing offices near employees’ homes. - Catering to the modern workforce needs
Did you know that India has a 29% share and ranks 7th among the top 10 countries which are home to the maximum freelancers in the world? The lack of job opportunities has pushed many professionals into the freelancing business, most of them residing in the developing cities of the country. With flexibility in work hours, workspace, and location being an integral part of freelancers’ work model, this modern workforce will continue to be an important customer segment for CRE players. - Financial upsides for all organizations
The pandemic brought forth the financial benefits that many organizations opting for traditional offices were missing out on. High rentals and high operational costs of electricity, café, parking, interiors, etc. can be foregone with managed offices. Such benefits have allowed the CRE industry to witness increased occupancy by small companies to large corporates, in metro as well as non-metro cities alike. - A reverse gear in workforce mobility
The workforce flocked back to their hometowns amid uncertainty and worked from home for more than a year. The perks of cost-saving, flexible hours, more family time, and better self-care, among others, are the reasons why the workforce might resist joining back traditional offices. To retain such talent, offices need to maintain work-from-home-like flexibility and let the offices reach employees.
The expansion into the tier-2 and tier-3 Indian markets was an item that just got prioritized in the to-do list of many CRE players. Thanks to the pandemic, evolved occupier sentiments, and revolutionary entrepreneurial growth, the demand for managed offices has increased manifold and fostered a favorable environment, making the future of flex workspaces in these cities more promising than ever.
