More corporate tenants on the move to boost demand

The corporate global tenant is increasingly driving prime lettings markets worldwide, including London.

Knight Frank says that this is despite the fact that half of their agents worldwide report that corporate budgets have shrunk since the onset of the credit crunch.

Another change is that employees who relocate are now more likely to take responsibility for searching for their own homes.

There is also a growing willingness among younger executives to move to peripheral locations to secure larger apartments at lower rents. This trend is partly triggered by shortage of supply in key areas in places such as central London.

All the Knight Frank agents worldwide felt confident that the long-term outlook for the global corporate lettings market is positive and predicted to increase.

The number of international assignments worldwide is estimated to have risen by 25% between 1998 and 2009, and is forecast to rise a further 50% by 2020. In 1998 the average number of internationally mobile employees in a large organisation was 200. That number is predicted to grow to 375 by 2020.

Corporate demand is already estimated to account for up to 85% of prime lettings in some of the world’s cities, says Knight Frank.