Research from The Instant Group finds that office occupiers have a new set of demands when it comes to office space, which is driving the average size of workspaces down by 29%.
The findings also revealed that Phoenix led the U.S. in increased workstation rates by 39%, with Nashville, Denver and Austin following behind. Demand also rose by 22% in Denver and 20% in Austin.
However, cities with the largest drops in cost-per-desk were New York City by -29%, Washington, D.C. by -23%, Boston by -22% and Los Angeles by -18%. Demand in San Francisco fell by 9% and by 8% in Chicago.
Despite larger cities seeing an overall fall in office interest, the suburbs that surround these areas saw demand grow tremendously, with Harrison, New York seeing a 200% spike in demand.
“The pandemic made agile workspace a requirement for major landlords and corporations alike moving forward, and we saw that play out almost immediately in the numbers,” said Joe Brady, CEO Americas, The Instant Group. “In secondary cities and suburban markets where people flocked to hunker down during Covid-19, we saw parallel demand for agility as companies and operators rushed to adjust. We expect this, together with landlords becoming involved in the industry by partnering with providers or going it alone, to drive the industry’s next growth phase.”