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The city has ranked among the top 10 “hottest” global markets for flexible office space.
Workspace advisory firm The Instant Group has reported that out of the cities with the greatest number of flex desks requested in 2023, Sydney ranked fifth, and recorded a 19 per cent increase over the previous year.
According to the firm, the NSW capital outperformed major cities such as New York City, Berlin and Singapore, experiencing one of the largest increases in interest in flex space over the previous 12 months.
The full ranking is as follows:
- London, England
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Sydney, Australia
- Chennai, India
- New York City, New York, USA
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Singapore, Singapore
- Berlin, Germany
The greatest increases in demand for desks came from Mexico City, which saw a 163 per cent increase this year, followed by a 48 per cent jump in Riyadh, a 23 per cent increase in Colombo, Sydney’s 19 per cent growth and Dubai, up 9 per cent.
The Instant Group counted Sydney as one of the global locations that has come to be synonymous with extensive flexible working options, yet while those other known hotspots such as New York City and London stayed fairly stable in demand, Sydney jumped forward in the past 12 months. That being said, its compound average growth rate sits in negative territory, at -6 per cent, showing that there are still gains to be made recovering from pandemic-era losses.
Several cities in the top 10 list this year are coming off a second straight year of massive growth, with 2022 proving favourable for Mexico City (+135 per cent), Colombo (+111 per cent), Mexico City (+135 per cent), Riyadh (+138 per cent), and Singapore (+126 per cent). The Instant Group noted that these increases were largely driven by a surge in demand for flexible space from major international companies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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