Global premium offices see continued flight to quality

– JLL’s report demonstrates resilience of premium offices over broader office market

Kuala Lumpur, 15 December 2020 – According to JLL’s December 2020 Premium Office Rent Tracker (PORT), rents for premium buildings worldwide have fallen less than the broader Grade A office market, demonstrating the resilience of quality workspace. As office workplace requirements adjust to the new normal, premium offices offer collaboration space, serving as social hubs and centers of innovation. The banking and finance sectors, traditional occupants of premium space, continue to be the driving force of rental demand, followed closely by tech firms, which are particularly active in innovation-rich cities.

“Kuala Lumpur is one of the best value cities globally. Testament to this is that Greater KL has attracted more than 100 MNC’s in recent years, taking advantage of attractive real estate costs, a large talent pool as well as Government tax incentives,” said YY Lau, Country Head of JLL Property Services (M) Sdn Bhd.

“The pandemic has proved to be an accelerant of trends in commercial real estate,” said Jeremy Kelly, Director, Global Research, JLL. “As markets adapt and recover, we anticipate both investors and occupiers will continue to seek out premium real estate for its ability to adapt to a new purpose of work.”

The sixth annual edition of PORT includes 100 office markets and submarkets across 86 cities and is JLL’s benchmark view on the best achievable office rent in the world’s top office markets. The research provides a reference tool for corporate occupiers seeking to compare occupancy costs across markets and find the best value in the world’s most expensive cities as well as global investors looking to identify sources of real estate demand for premium space.

For more information, download the report: Premium Office Rent Tracker.