According to a Knight Frank survey, prime office rentals in Bengaluru and Mumbai declined 8 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively, between January and March 2021, as compared to the previous year.

As per the consultant's Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index Q1, 2021 survey, prime office rents in the national capital region (Delhi-NCR) fell by just 1 per cent from January to March this year to the same time in 2020."Despite there being uncertainty around the performance of India's office sector, Bengaluru, NCR, and Mumbai markets are expected to remain stable in rental values over the next 12-months," Knight Frank said.

For Q1 2021, Knight Frank's Asia Pacific Prime Office Rental Index fell 1.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter, led by large office markets such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bengaluru, which recorded rental decline between 3 per cent and 2.8 per cent during the same period. On an annual basis, the overall index was down 5.5 per cent year-on-year.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India, said, “The second wave of pandemic and associated regional lockdowns have temporarily delayed occupiers' office re-occupancy plans". However, he said, control on infection case count with graded regional lockdowns and progress on vaccination drive will act as a market stabiliser in near future.

"Given the strong fundamentals of the India office market, despite the near-term uncertainty, occupiers will positively react to any improvement in the pandemic scenario in the country," Baijal said.