Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey 2017 — Demand Trends
Demand for office space is changing. Capture the trends.
Employing different types of workers and improving productivity are urgent matters facing companies in Japan; the lack of labor from working-age population decline is a nationwide problem. More companies are starting to allow employees to be flexible on where and when to work. This trend will impact the office space demand. For example, the required size of office, the preferred location and the way of using the office space may be different in the future.
Xymax Real Estate Institute started a survey on a regular basis in 2016 on how companies are using office spaces and how people work. The purpose of the survey is to study the impact of such trends on office space demand. This issue covers the results of our second survey.
Office Space Demand Change April 2016 – March 2017 (Page 2 – Page 7)
Demand is strong. "Increase" and "expand" exceeded "decrease" and "downsize".
Number of office workers: Increased (37.6%) Decreased (12.9%)
Size of office space: Expanded (7.9%) Downsized (2.0%)Figure 1
Similar result for rent per tsubo (incl. CAM): Increased (14%) Decreased (2.6%)
Office expansion and rent increase were prominent in telecommunication industries and companies having office in Tokyo 23 Wards.
Still, 31.6% of the companies think their current office is not large enough.
Alternative Workspaces Are Becoming More Available (Page 8 – Page 10)
Telework spaces are available at 30% of the companies.
More companies are allowing employees to use alternative workspaces: Work-from-home program (12.6%), satellite office, serviced office, etc.Figures 10, 11
Larger companies have high tendency of having satellite office while work-from-home programs are also becoming popular at small companies employing up to 99 workers.
Offices in Tokyo 23 Wards are more active in promoting telework than other metropolitan areas.
Outlook – Office Space Demand (Page 11 – Page 15)
Demand will remain strong. "Increase" and "expand" exceeded "decrease" and "downsize".
Number of office workers in near future: Increase (34.3%) Decrease (4.8%)
Size of office space in near future: Expand (17.2%) Downsize (3.8%)Figure 15
What Companies Expect from Large Volume of New Completions Starting in 2018 (Page 16 – Page 17)
"More opportunities to lease spaces under preferable terms" said 45.2% of the companies in Greater Tokyo. There is a possibility of active office relocations starting in the next fiscal year.Figure 23
