Rising Demand Future Ready Workspaces Apac Cushman Wakefield
The office sector in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region is entering a new phase of strategic maturity, as highlighted by Cushman & Wakefield in its recent report, “Asia Pacific Office Demand – Navigating Expansionary Markets”. After experiencing rapid growth over the past decade, the Apac office market is now seeing a fundamental shift in how occupiers approach office space.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s chief executive for India, Southeast Asia and Middle East and Africa and Apac head for offices and retail, Anshul Jain, the office is now more than just a platform for expansion. It has become a tool for brand expression, cultural alignment and performance.
The report shows that the region’s Grade A office stock has doubled from 1.2 billion sq ft in 2015 to 2.33 billion sq ft as of 2Q2025. During the same period, 900 million sq ft of Grade A office space was absorbed, with the majority located in cities across India, Southeast Asia and mainland China.
Despite the increase in supply, vacancy rates have risen from 13% to 18% region-wide, indicating a shift in the market as occupiers become more selective. Jain explains that companies are now prioritising spaces that foster talent, support ESG commitments, and provide long-term resilience.
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The growing demand for future-ready workspaces in Apac is primarily driven by office markets in mainland China, India and Southeast Asia, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In China, the technology, media and telecommunications, professional services and finance sectors have sustained demand, resulting in the occupied Grade A office stock doubling to 640 million sq ft. Emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing and quantum computing are also expected to continue driving demand and fuel the current flight to quality trend among occupiers.
In India, cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, which have become hubs for global capability centres, are driving office leasing activity. The country’s top cities have seen an annual net absorption of 40 million sq ft over 2023 to 2024, with demand increasingly focused on Grade A+ buildings as India establishes itself as the preferred destination for digital transformation and R&D.
In Southeast Asia (SEA), occupied grade A stock has grown by 10% over the past five years, reaching 235 million sq ft in 2024. Despite higher vacancy rates, top-tier developments in cities like Manila, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City are achieving record-high rents, with prime Grade A offices fetching rents over 20% above the overall market benchmarks, according to Cushman & Wakefield. While demand in key SEA markets continues to be led by the banking and finance industry, tech companies, information technology and business process management providers, and healthcare firms are also expanding across the region. This has led to increasing sophistication in tenant requirements, emphasising the need for higher-quality spaces.
Among the markets studied in the report, Singapore stands out with the lowest office vacancy rate at 5%. This is despite having the highest office rental cost at US$103.1 ($132.3) psf per year. While neighbouring markets have higher vacancies (such as Kuala Lumpur at 28% and Bangkok at 27%), Singapore maintains strong demand, reflecting its position as a regional financial and technology hub.
As the Apac office market matures, office spaces are expected to see more strategic reinvention, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Dominic Brown, the head of international research at the firm, predicts a shift from volume to value, where the quality of space, its alignment with ESG goals, and its ability to support innovation will become the new benchmarks.