Bangkok’s Grade A office space being emptied out by virus crisis

By THE NATION

 

Representational Image

 

Covid-19 has hit the office rental business hard, with many high-end office spaces left vacant after companies have shut down or moved to cheaper places, said Surachet Kongcheep, managing director at Phoenix Property Development and Consultancy.

 

“In the first quarter, there is over 60,000 square metres of new rental space that is still vacant in Bangkok, and we expect supply of new rental space could rise to over 200,000 sqm this year,” he said. “About 55 percent of this space is in the city’s central business district [CBD].”

 

Surachet said this trend could continue for at least six months or until a vaccine is found for Covid-19.

 

‘“More companies may consider downsizing their workspace by letting people continue working from home, which has been proved to be an effective and economical alternative during the government’s lockdown,” he said.

 

“In the first quarter, average rental fees for office space in Bangkok are still high since most companies only began negotiating for discounts with their landlords in April,” added Surachet. “In the second quarter, however, we shall see the average rental fee gradually come down as tenants have asked for discounts of between 20 and 50 percent for the next three to six months to keep their businesses afloat during the Covid-19 crisis.”

 

“The latest survey reveals that the average monthly rent for grade A office space is Bt1,100 per sqm within the CBD or Bt800-Bt850 outside the CBD,” said Surachet. “Price is the main reason companies are deciding to move out of CBD areas.”

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30387714

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-05-12

 

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A typical scenario playing out globally, as more people are made to work from home.

It now realised that there is improved production from people working at home, due in part to less distractions.

53 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

A typical scenario playing out globally, as more people are made to work from home.

It now realised that there is improved production from people working at home, due in part to less distractions.

... and a massive saving for the companies who don't need expensive office space which will, of course, allow them to reimburse employees for use of their private residences. Or just keep the savings...

 

Expect lots of gofundme pages for impoverished office block landlords....

Those new buildings due to open in the next year or so could become redundant. The big project near Queen S MRT and the one not far away from Asoke on Phetchaburi MRT should definitely be worried.  

Be fair, even in my home town of Marlow , in Bucks, UK, they destroyed all the factories to make way for Offices 25 years ago that have pretty much remained operational at about 50% and employ security to guard entirely empty office blocks.

 

Where as in the past we seemed to have 1 office job to cover 10 factory workers, we now have 1 factory worker being told what to do by 10 office workers 

Governments force people to stay in their homes and then the news reports how shocking the inevitable effects are.  Offices are not being emptied out due to "virus crises", they are being emptied due to government interference.  

 

Once all these private businesses and land owners go bankrupt, i wonder who might have the liquidity to come in and snatch it up at fire sale prices? ????

The wife and I were in a taxi on Sukhumvit around the CBD in the afternoon the other day. We noticed quite a few attractive young ladies zipping by on the moto taxis. Dressed somewhat professionally, but the skirts were maybe a little too short for the office. She speculated that in these times of crisis, they're doing "deliveries".