If each person needs 8 m2 to work, how much is the office space in Ho Chi Minh City?

According to the Center for Forecasting Human Needs and Labor Market Information in Ho Chi Minh City, in the second quarter, there will be about 65,500 – 72,500 new jobs and 310,000 for the whole year. Some industries have high labor demand and potential for large office rental demand, such as distribution, real estate and information technology – communication (IT – TT). In general, each office worker needs 8 m2 to work, the office market in Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to need 140,000 m2 to meet the number of new jobs in 2022.

According to Savills, as of the first quarter, the office supply reached approximately 2.5 million m2, up 0.4% compared to the previous quarter and 3% in the same period last year. Non-CBD supply increased 1% QoQ, with 3 new Grade C projects in District 3, Binh Thanh and Tan Binh providing a total of 10,500 m2 of office space.

The overall performance of the office market is stable with an average occupancy rate of 90% and rent at VND716,000 per square meter per month. Grade A and B occupancy decreased by 1 percentage point qoq to 93% and 87%, respectively. This decline is due to companies moving to lower class buildings or reducing office size. However, Grade C office space was quite active in the first quarter, with occupancy increasing by 1 percentage point compared to the previous quarter, to 91%.

This is supported by the recovery from small and medium businesses after being impacted by the pandemic. In general, market rents remained unchanged from the previous quarter and the same period last year. The demand for office rental also increased, due to the rapid economic recovery of Ho Chi Minh City after the pandemic, the number of newly established businesses increased.

By 2025, Savills forecasts a total of 17 new projects with 526,000 m2 of floor space expected to be put into operation. In the next quarters of 2022, the market will have two Grade B projects and three Grade C projects, adding to the supply of about 60,000 m2 of usable area. Positive demand coupled with economic recovery is expected to boost office market activity this year.

According to Khong Chiem