Rising Demand Future Ready Workspaces Apac Cushman Wakefield
According to Cushman & Wakefield, the office sector in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) is entering a new phase of strategic maturity. In its latest report, “Asia Pacific Office Demand – Navigating Expansionary Markets,” the firm highlights a fundamental shift in how occupiers approach office space in the region.
Cushman & Wakefield’s chief executive for India, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa and its APAC head for offices and retail, Anshul Jain, notes that the office is now seen as a platform for brand expression, cultural alignment, and performance, rather than just for expansion.
The report reveals that the supply of top-quality office buildings, known as Grade A office stock, has doubled from 1.2 billion square feet in 2015 to 2.33 billion square feet as of the second quarter of 2025 in the APAC region. During the same period, 900 million square feet of Grade A office space was absorbed, with most of it located in major cities in India, Southeast Asia, and mainland China.
However, this increase in supply has also led to a rise in vacancy rates, from 13% to 18% region-wide. This trend reflects a shift in the market, with occupiers becoming more selective. Jain points out that companies are now prioritizing spaces that nurture talent, support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments, and enable long-term resilience.
The growing demand for future-ready workspaces in APAC is mainly driven by the office markets in mainland China, India, and Southeast Asia, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In China, sustained demand from the technology, media, and telecommunications, professional services, and finance industries has caused occupied Grade A office stock to increase to 640 million square feet. These sectors, together with emerging industries like artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, and quantum computing, are expected to continue driving demand and fueling the current trend of occupiers opting for higher-quality office spaces.
In India, cities that have become hubs for global capability centers, such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, are driving office leasing activity. With India positioning itself as the go-to destination for digital transformation and research and development (R&D), the country’s annual net absorption across its top cities reached 40 million square feet between 2023 and 2024, with a growing focus on Grade A+ buildings.
In Southeast Asia, the occupied Grade A stock has grown by 10% over the last five years, reaching 235 million square feet as of 2024. Despite higher vacancy rates, prime Grade A offices in cities like Manila, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City are achieving record-high rents, with rents 20% above the overall market benchmarks, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The demand in key Southeast Asian markets is mainly driven by the banking and finance sector, but tech companies, information technology and business process management providers, and healthcare firms are also expanding across the region. As a result, tenant requirements are becoming more sophisticated, highlighting the need for higher-quality office spaces.
In the APAC region, Singapore has the lowest office vacancy rate among the markets studied in the report, at 5%. Despite having the highest office rental cost at US$103.1 ($132.3) per square foot per year, the country maintains strong demand, reflecting its position as a regional financial and tech hub. In contrast, neighboring markets face higher vacancy rates, such as Kuala Lumpur at 28% and Bangkok at 27%.
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As the APAC office market matures, Cushman & Wakefield predicts that office spaces will see more strategic reinvention. “We’re witnessing a shift from volume to value, where the quality of space, its alignment with ESG goals, and its ability to support innovation are becoming the new benchmarks,” says Dominic Brown, the firm’s head of international research.