Year in review

For global occupier markets, 2022 brought challenges to the global office markets affecting how occupiers view their space needs and how workers see the office as a part of their lives. The role and function of office spaces continues to be challenged and reimagined by real estate teams and business management, something that persists in creating uncertainty in office markets around the globe.

Over the course of the year, several themes emerged affecting office occupiers and the wider economy. Beyond the ongoing effects of inflation and supply chain issues which have driven up costs for occupiers, there have also been wider structural changes which have and will continue to affect office and occupier markets over the coming year. Some of these changes include changing work patterns because of increased hybrid working affecting utilisation rates; the ever-increasing importance of wellbeing and how it is incorporated in design; the role of technology in property to move towards sustainability; and labour market challenges ranging from the lack of skilled workers to the shrinking working-age population in many developed countries.

Occupiers and brokers both also report that one of the key drivers from 2022 has been the ongoing competition for high-quality office space to fit ESG strategies and attract and retain talent coupled with the low availability of high-quality offices – a green office deficit – and slow supply due to development delays. This will remain a key theme for 2023.

Each quarter, the Savills team of expert local tenant representation professionals and researchers present a snapshot of occupancy costs for prime office space across the global markets critical to our clients.

For this issue of Savills Prime Office Costs (SPOC) insights, we spoke with local tenant agents to understand the key drivers for their markets over the past year and where they see trends in occupier markets could move over 2023.

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: Savills Prime Office Costs – Q4 2022 below.}