The surge in working-from-home arrangements ignited by the coronavirus outbreak is now being seen as having a major impact on rising office vacancies in urban areas.
According to office brokerage giant Miki Shoji Co., the vacancy rate in central Tokyo in July increased 0.8 points from the previous month to 2.77%, up for the fifth consecutive month. The increase is due to companies downsizing their offices as more staff are working remotely, as well as firms postponing new tenancy contracts due to poor earnings.
July marked the half-way point to the 10 consecutive months of increased vacancies between September 2009-June 2010 that followed the bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Since the state of emergency over the outbreak was declared in April, it has been difficult for real estate agents to conclude contracts for offices -- and the trend is expected to continue for August.
Vacancy rates have risen in urban areas across the country, with 2.28% in Sapporo, 2.91% in Nagoya, 2.71% in Osaka and 2.87% in Fukuoka.
A major real estate agent said: "The situation has changed drastically from last year, when we were in great shape. It has become necessary to review the overall strategy for office building development."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
