Flexible office space and coworking operators have grown tremendously over the past few years, but could this affect office leasing activity?

Patrick Amos, an SVP at CBRE, believes that coworking firms are in fact a net positive for leasing activity and that there has been no impact on direct leasing of large operators.

“While the market has yet to impact direct leasing, the space is rapidly growing,” said Amos. “Today, there are 50 operators competing in the market, and office landlords have recently joined the niche market.”

Overall, players include large and small operators, niche firms, hospitality, executive suite operators and landlord-ran models. Although many new coworking companies continue to enter into the market, large operators such as WeWork still account for the majority of coworking activity, particularly in major cities.

On the other hand, Los Angeles operators are testing the market by targeting smaller entrepreneurial groups.