Hyderabad’s office return inches up, lagging behind Bengaluru, Mumbai’s full-scale revival

While Hyderabad is not yet hitting the 100 per cent mark like its counterparts Bengaluru and Mumbai, recent reports suggest a resurgence, signaling a steady return to office work.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is treading steadily towards a balanced transition from remote work culture to the revival of physical office spaces. While the city is not yet hitting the 100 per cent mark like its counterparts Bengaluru and Mumbai, recent reports suggest a resurgence, signaling a steady return to office work.

Vivek Rathi, the National Director of Research at Knight Frank India, said the return to office spaces in Hyderabad is gradually inching closer to pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, he said, approximately 55 to 60 per cent of employees had already resumed working from physical offices, marking a substantial improvement from the preceding year.

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In Knight Frank India’s comprehensive report detailing the office market trends from January to December 2023, the Hyderabad office leasing sector witnessed 32 per cent year-on-year growth, boasting an impressive 8.8 million sft of transactions. This surge in demand was largely attributed to the presence of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) firms, indicating a robust push for employees to return to their workplaces.

“The city is anticipated to move closer to the pre-pandemic in-office presence, potentially reaching it by the first or later part of 2025,” remarked Vivek Rathi, highlighting the trajectory towards achieving higher in-office presence, which stood around 75 per cent even before the pandemic.

The report highlighted the dominance of offshore units of multinational corporations as key players in leasing office spaces. These GCCs accounted for a substantial 46 per cent of leased office spaces in 2023, compared to 40 per cent in the previous year.

Joseph Thilak, National Director of Occupier Strategy and Solutions, Knight Frank India, commended Hyderabad’s allure, citing its stellar quality of life, robust infrastructure, and consistent influx of top-tier talent and corporate entities.

Rental:

The office rental scenario in Hyderabad maintained stability, witnessing 1 per cent year-on-year increase during the latter half of 2023. Interestingly, prime office leasing areas like Hitec City and the Financial District experienced stagnant rental growth during this period.

Hyderabad’s Suburban Business District (SBD), encompassing Kondapur, Manikonda, Kukatpally, and Raidurg, remained a hotspot with the highest average transacted rental range recorded between Rs 68-75 per sq ft per month.