Despite the economic downturn, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw an 11% year-on-year increase in absorption of office space at 6.9 million sq. feet in 2019, according to a report by real estate consulting firm Savills India. In simple terms, office space was either sold or leased out in the period.
Financial services and technology, along with engineering and manufacturing sectors, constituted over 60% of leasing activity during 2019, the report said. Coworking spaces, an emerging sector, accounted for approximately 9% of the absorption.
As per the report, vacancy levels dropped to approximately 14% in 2019 from about 16% in 2018. However, vacancy in Navi Mumbai stood at around 20%, while North Central Mumbai reported a vacancy of approximately 16%.
The average rental growth was 5% for Thane, Navi Mumbai and Bandra Kurla Complex, the report said.
