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Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2018
Capturing the changing trend of office demand

Companies have been hiring more in recent years on the back of increased corporate earnings, which has been a cause of a rise in office demand. In addition, more companies are introducing flexible workstyles that are not bound to place and time, in an effort to address urgent issues of securing diversity in human resources and improving productivity on the back of concerns of labor shortage due to the decline in the working-age population. This trend is likely to have an impact on required size, location, and usage styles that companies require in selecting offices.

Since autumn 2016, Xymax Real Estate Institute has conducted questionnaire surveys on companies’ use of offices and workstyles on a regular basis (twice a year). It has continuously published the results of its analysis on office demand. This report covers the results of the fourth survey.

(1 tsubo = 3.3 sqm)

Summary of Survey Results
  1. Change in office demand (April 2017–March 2018) (Pages 3–9)
    40.0% of companies saw an increase in the number of office users over the past year, exceeding companies that saw a decrease (13.3%). 9.1% of companies expanded their office space, while 2.7% downsized, indicating that office demand was robust.(Figures 1, 2)
    • The result was similar for rent per tsubo (incl. CAM): Increased (16.6%) Decreased (1.1%)
    • In terms of the location of office, office expansion and rent increases were prominent in the Tokyo 23 Wards. In terms of company size, office expansion was prominent at companies with 100–999 employees.
    • 38.3% of companies still think their current office is small.
  2. Diversification of workplaces (Pages 10–13)
    More companies are making efforts to offer alternative workplaces, such as work-from-home programs (20.6%) and satellite and serviced offices.(Figure 14)
    • Large companies (with 1,000 or more employees) tend to be more active in offering alternative workplaces as a way to support telework.
      However, compared to the Spring 2017 survey, the growth rate was high at companies with 100–999 employees.
    • In terms of location and industry, companies in the Tokyo 23 Wards and in the telecommunications industry tend to be more active diversifying workplaces as a way to support telework.
  3. Outlook of office demand (Pages 14–19)
    Companies that replied that the number of office users will increase (41.1%) exceeded those that expected a decrease (5.2%). Similarly, companies that replied that they wanted to expand their office space (23.5%) exceeded those that wanted to downsize (4.6%), indicating that office demand will remain robust.(Figures 18, 19)
    • What companies placed the most importance on when carrying out office strategies was “productivity improvement” (65.8%). The results indicated that companies tended to focus more on employee satisfaction than on cost.
    • More than 40% of companies chose “heavy cost burden” as the top concern or obstacle in carrying out office strategies. Matters related to internal coordination ranked higher than in the Spring 2017 survey.
    • Compared to companies that have not offered a place for telework, companies that have had smaller office space per person.
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