Half of companies across Asia Pacific expect to expand their office space over the next three years as workplace attendance stabilises and demand shifts towards higher-quality premises, according to CBRE’s 2026 Asia Pacific Office Occupier Survey.
The survey found that 88% of respondents now have employees working from the office at least three days a week, the highest level recorded since the Covid-19 pandemic, while 85% believe office attendance has reached a steady state.
CBRE said the findings point to a new phase in workplace strategy, with companies moving beyond efforts to bring employees back to the office and focusing instead on improving workplace quality, efficiency and employee experience.
“The workplace conversation in Asia Pacific has fundamentally shifted,” said CBRE Head of Leasing for Asia Pacific Tom Gaffney, adding that with attendance and utilisation largely stabilised at higher levels, companies are no longer focused only on bringing employees back to the office; they can now concentrate on transforming the workplace to improve experience and efficiency.
Gaffney said companies are increasingly taking a selective approach to portfolio growth while prioritising premium workplaces.
Business expansion remains a key driver of office demand, with 50% of respondents expecting their office footprint to grow over the next three years. Of these, 60% cited organic business growth as the main reason for expansion.
Rather than pursuing broad-based growth, CBRE said many occupiers are consolidating or exiting lower-quality space while directing more investment towards premium facilities.
Expansion sentiment was particularly strong in India and Japan, where office demand is being constrained by limited availability. Occupiers in Mainland China are also pursuing growth, led largely by technology and new energy companies, although at a more measured pace.
Demand for higher-grade offices remains firm, with 48% of respondents expecting their locations to be situated in central business districts and 85% preferring Grade A buildings or above.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is playing a growing role in corporate real estate operations.
Some 46% of respondents described themselves as AI adopters or active movers in applying the technology within their real estate functions, sharply higher than 9% in 2024.
However, CBRE said AI has yet to translate into a clear reduction in office requirements. More than half of occupiers said AI had either made no impact on their workforce or office footprint, or that it was still too early to determine its effects.
CBRE Head of Research for Asia Pacific Ada Choi said companies continue to balance efforts to improve portfolio efficiency with the need to strengthen employee experience.
“Although there is speculation that AI could reduce office demand, our findings suggest most organisations remain in the early stages of assessing its impact, with minimal short-term effect on real estate requirements,” she said.
Choi added that continued confidence in business growth is supporting expansion plans, although future demand is expected to be concentrated in higher-quality workplaces as companies rationalise lower-value space.
