Factors Influencing Office Building Occupation Decision by Tenants ...

Factors Influencing Office Building Occupation Decision by Tenants in Kuala Lumpur city centre – a Delphi Studywithin the area demarcated by the CityHall of Kuala Lumpur as the KualaLumpur city centre. The averageoccupancy rate of the office space inKuala Lumpur is 84% while the averageoccupancy rate of the office space in thecity centre (as defined in the study) is 82%(NAPIC, Commercial Property StockReport, 2009).An overview of the occupancy rateof office space within the areas in KualaLumpur as defined by NAPIC (2009)shows varying figures as follows:Table 1: Occupancy Rate of Office Spacein Kuala Lumpur ((NAPIC, Q3, 2009)Defined Area Occupancy RateGolden Triangle 82%Jalan Ampang 95%Central Business 85%DistrictWithin City Centre 83%Suburban 83%There has been a slight improvementof the office market over the past fewyears before the economic crisis of 2008as evidenced by the improvement in thetake-up rates of office space in the KualaLumpur office market for the period upto 2007. An observation of the 10-yearsupply trend from 1997 to 2007 isillustrated below.Cross-sectional analysis by locationand various development stages showspertinent movements over the 10-yearperiod from 1997 up to 2007. Althoughthere has been an increasing trend ofsupply in the suburban area, the KualaLumpur city centre still has the largestconcentration of office supply.Factors relevant to office occupationdecisionsWhile a number of studies have beenpublished in other countries on the overallrequirements of office tenants for officeFigure 2: Supply of Office Space by Location(Source: A E Ahmad, Z M Isa, 2008, NAPIC (various publications, 1998 – 2008))67