Office space in CBD at a premium as rents soar
Colliers International (Thailand) reported this week that the average office rent in Bangkok was at the highest level for several years as demand continues to soar.
At the end of the third quarter of 2019, 95.7 per cent of the total 8,387,207 square meters of office space was occupied, leaving just 377,692 sqm available for rent.
“Lumphini is the area with the highest utilisation rate at 96.5 per cent,” said Phattarachai Taweewong, Collier’s associate director of research. “The average rental price in this area increased more than 6 per cent over the previous quarter due to its amenities, namely shopping malls, parks, hotels, transportation including BTS and MRT, and also its security."
Rentals continue to increase in all parts of Lumphini with top-grade office buildings in the central business area particularly popular. “These increases in price will possibly affect the average rent of new office buildings that are nearing completion,” Phattarachai added. “Some companies plan to increase their rate to more than Bt1,600 per square metre per month.”
“Moreover, in the third quarter of this year, we found that the rental price of the top grade office buildings in the central business area ranged between Bt1,500 and Bt1,600 per square metre, the highest rental rate for office space in Bangkok” said the associate director. “It is a trend that we foresee will continue.”