The preferences that the return to offices has brought with it have tilted the balance towards those spaces that are ready to occupy compared to the options that prevailed in periods prior to the pandemic.

Companies currently face a scenario of greater volatility and uncertainty, so the planning horizon does not allow them to take long-term risks. Inflation at levels not seen in recent years and the reorganization of production processes has raised alerts in business decision makers who are playing it safe to guarantee the operation with the least amount of setbacks.

Previously, when demand prevailed over supply, companies competed to get the best spaces and were willing to wait for adaptation deadlines to ensure that the spaces could represent the values of their corporate culture.

Check here: Demand for offices on the road to recovery

On the other hand, before there were abundant materials and the deadlines for compliance were predictable, which has changed today with the scarcity of some finishes and supplies, which often delay the delivery of works.

The need for new provisions with intelligent connectivity systems, vertical transfer movements in buildings, access controls, all of this with the need to minimize contacts in order to reduce contagion caused greater difficulties when it comes to having an office operational.

It will be necessary to remember that prior to the pandemic, the largest number of spaces were delivered in gray work, which, although it continues to make up an important part of the availability, does not manage to be attractive enough to catch demand.

At the end of 2Q 2022, at a national level, close to 210 thousand square meters closed leasing operations and México City managed to register 137 thousand square meters, once again achieving positive net demands.

In parallel, the coworking fabric has been significantly reinforced not only in Mexico but also in the rest of the markets nationwide, which has allowed markets such as  Monterrey and  Guadalajara to exceed 26 and 16 thousand square meters of net demand during the 2Q 2022, in addition to all the availability that companies such as Wework, Regus, Iza and Ios offer.

Of interest: Vacancies decrease and demand for offices in Mexico City increases

Pre-leases have ceased to set the standard when it comes to choosing a venue both in Mexico City and in the rest of the markets nationwide, the fact that quick and effective decisions have to be made has affected the preferences for occupying ready-made spaces to operate in markets such as Querétaro, Puebla and Tijuana, which registered gross demands of 7.3, 5 and 4.2 thousand square meters, respectively, at the end of the second quarter of 2022.

In the second half of 2022, it is likely that this trend will continue to rise as well as the decrease in vacancies will be permanent in the scenario of slow but sure recovery in corporate demand, where towards the end of the year we will be able to see the start of small projects smaller than 4 thousand square meters, mainly in medium and emerging markets.