15 Must-Know Facts & Figures From The Instant Group’s Global Flex Market Report

Published on July 31, 2019 - By Cecilia Amador

• The Instant Group’s new report analyses the top flexible workspace markets around the world.
• It predicts that flexible workspace will represent 10% of office stock within these locations by 2024.
• On average, demand for flexible workspace from clients increased by 19% last year in the global cities.

The Instant Group recently published the research report “The Global Flex Market: The top 18 Markets for Flexible Workspace in 2019”. The report analyses the leading flexible workspace markets, specifically the continued evolution of coworking, the role serviced offices are playing, and how economic cycles are impacting the way occupiers are using and managing space. 

The research took into account markets where flexible workspace represents between 3% and 5% of office stock. The Instant Group identified the following as global cities: Tokyo, Madrid, Mumbai, Paris, Melbourne, London, Sydney, Toronto, Hong Kong, Berlin, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Singapore, San Francisco, New York, Beijing, Dubai, and Chicago; and it expects flexible workspace to represent 10% of office stock by 2024. 

Suggested Reading: “The Top 5 Ways CRE Is Crossing into the Coworking Industry”

Though the above cities are all in different stages of maturation, they represent the largest markets for flexible workspaces and they are poised to continue growing as more landlords and property developers “increase the proportion of their portfolios given over to flex space to meet client demand for ‘non-lease’ workspace”. 

Key Stats & Facts from the Instant Group’s Report

1. New supply of flexible workspaces in most global cities has reached 16% over the past year, with the exception of Tokyo and Dubai.
2. Over 23% of flexible workspace centers are located in the top 18 leading global cities. 
3. In Toronto, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Sydney, the growth of supply sits above 15%. 
4. In New York and London, the most developed flexible workspace markets in the world, growth remains at 20% and 17% respectively. 
5. In Berlin, Google search demand for flexible workspaces has increased by nearly 100% year on year. 
6. 33% of flexible workspace demand in Berlin is for teams of 10+ people. 
7. On average, demand for flexible workspace from clients increased by 19% last year in the global cities. 
8. On average, the increase in supply in global cities is 16%. 
9. Pricing has cooled by 5% on average across key city markets. 
10. Markets that have experienced an increase in supply by 20% have seen reductions in desk pricing during the same period, barring the APAC market.
11. In Asia-Pacific price increases have gone hand in hand with growing flexible workspace market supply. 
12. The APAC market is expected to overtake EMEA from a supply volume perspective during 2021. 
13. EMEA remains the largest market by number of centres, but the Instant Group expects to see far more disaggregated expansion into secondary and tertiary locations in the region. 
14. The Instant Group predicts the Eastern Europe, Latin America (specifically Mexico and Colombia), and African markets will experience the strongest growth in the coming years. 
15. Paris, Tokyo, and Chicago are also poised for significant growth as they currently don’t have the total supply of flexible workspace locations that matches their international business profile. 

As the above facts and figures show, the key takeaway from this report is that while the flexible workspace industry has experienced incredible growth over the past few years, there is still much more growth to come. 

Suggested Reading: “Coworking Is the New Normal and These Stats Prove It”

A significant amount of future growth will be driven by an increasing number of landlords and property developers taking an active role in  the industry. These CRE players, by now, have realized the increased value that can be generated by providing flexible workspace in their properties. They are also aware of the fact that tenants are increasingly demanding these types of flexible space offerings. 

Demographic changes will also play a key role in the future of the industry. By 2030, Oxford Economics predicts that the top 750 largest cities will account for 61% of global GDP. The Instant Group believes “these leading locations are likely to remain the focal point of the flexible office industry development in the near future.”