Emerging office markets such as Tijuana, Mérida and El Bajío have been able to find a way out in coworking in the face of the complex panorama that accentuated the pandemic.

While in Mexico City, the market with the largest inventory nationwide, the outlook is one of oversupply and reconversions are being evaluated, in emerging markets the drops have not been as dramatic despite the pandemic and mobility restrictions.

The use of coworking spaces according to specialists will be one of the decisive factors for the recovery of the office segment, as they are the ones that have remained most active in emerging markets so far.

According to the Solili Real Estate Platform, during the second quarter of the year, the gross demand for spaces nationwide was 10% higher than that observed during 2020, a period in which the ravages of the pandemic in the sector were already evident, this behavior was driven especially by markets such as Mérida, Tijuana and parts of the Bajío.

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The performance they have had is mainly explained by two factors: the advance of vaccination and the interest that coworking companies have shown in absorbing unoccupied spaces, Pablo López Director of analysis at Solili told Obras.

Despite the fact that at the beginning of the pandemic coworking was one of the hardest hit, the Solili analyst believes that now they could lead the recovery precisely because of the flexibility in the types of contracts and spaces, since companies are still evaluating how to return face-to-face activities.

In the case of Tijuana, it has been maintained thanks to its proximity to the United States, since according to Hector Klerian, Deputy General Director of JLL Mexico, the possibility of reducing costs has made it an attractive destination. The entity currently has an inventory of 33,000 square meters built and a vacancy rate of. 12.3%, the lowest nationally, according to Solili's figures.

In the case of Mérida, its performance is explained by demographic growth; however, companies have decided to locate in the region due to the quality of life that is one of the main attractions of the state.

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As of the first quarter of the year, the inventory is made up of 66.6 thousand square meters built, which represents a growth of 24.8% compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Querétaro is considered the most prominent corporate market in the Bajío region as it has around 500 thousand square meters, according to Obras Alejandro Del Valle, Bajío Executive Director at JLL.

He added that in this city, prior to the pandemic, there was already an oversupply condition, now what is expected is that for now the uncertainty will slow down new construction and that could help the levels of supply and demand to equalize.

While León is the second most attractive due to population density, but for now it only has 90 thousand square meters in existence. It is expected that in the next two years 100 thousand news meters will be incorporated in Querétaro and 4 thousand square meters in León.

Although there are signs of activity in the industry, specialists agree that this is no longer a sustained recovery, but is the result of the adjustment of companies that are fine-tuning their plans to return to face-to-face work, which will continue to be subject to the sanitary conditions of the country.

Solili analyzes the office markets nationwide, consult Mexico City Offices

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