Xymax Real Estate Institute

RESEARCH REPORT

Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023
<Summary Report>
The gap between companies’ actual coming-to-office ratio and future
intentions shrinks ahead of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 18, 2023

What impact do the long COVID-19 pandemic and its end have on the work styles at Japanese companies
and office demand? Since autumn 2016, Xymax Real Estate Institute (“Xymax REI”) has been conducting aquestionnaire survey of companies across Japan on their use of offices and their employees’ work styles on asemi-annual basis to analyze the relationship with office demand continuously. We have released a report on
the results of the 14th survey. This Summary is an excerpt of the report.

Main Findings
In terms of changes in office size over the past year, the percentage of “Expansion (actual +potential)” rose after bottoming out in the Spring 2021 survey, overtaking the rate of“Downsizing (actual + potential)” this time (Figure 1).

35.4% of the companies replied that the number of office occupants would increase, a rise of 13.2
pt from the Spring 2022 survey (Figure 2-1). In terms of office size, the percentage of “Want toexpand” (15.6%) outweighed that of “Want to downsize” (6.3%) (Figure 2-2).

As for the coming-to-office ratio, the percentage of “100% (come to office full time)” was 25.7%,
the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 3). Regarding future intentions, “100% (come tooffice full time)” was 25.6%, with the remaining 74.4% intending to continue implementing
telework. The gap between actual and intention has shrunk compared to previous surveys,
indicating that reality is approaching intentions ahead of the end of the pandemic.

The availability of a work-from-home policy is 45.6%, continuing downward after peaking out
in the Spring 2021 survey (Figure 4). On the other hand, the availability of satellite offices is30.3% and increasing every year.

As for companies’ interest in using the different types of satellite offices, the most popular was the“Intensive solo-work type” (63.0%) and the “City-center touchdown type” (62.8%), rising inpercentage by nearly 10 pt from the Autumn 2020 survey (Figure 5).

Survey Overview
Survey period:
Target respondents:

June 6–June 18, 2023
47,616 companies in total that include the following:・Tenants of office buildings managed by the Xymax Group・Companies subscribing to ZXY, a satellite office service for corporate customers
・Client companies of XYMAX INFONISTA Corporation
Number of valid answers: 1,722 (Aggregated in office units; therefore, answers from different offices of thesame company are treated as separate answers.)
Geographical coverage:
Nationwide (Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Fukuoka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba)
Survey method:
EmailMetropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Summary Report>
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. This report may not be
reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute. © Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute

Topic 1
In terms of changes in office size over the past year, the percentage of “Expansion (actual + potential)”rose after bottoming out in the Spring 2021 survey, overtaking the rate of “Downsizing (actual +potential)” this time (Figure 1). The downsizing trend that has continued since the COVID-19 pandemic
appears to have subsided.
Figure 1: Change in Office Size over the Past Year (Actual + Potential)

Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Summary Report>
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. This report may not be
reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute. © Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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Topic 2
35.4% of the companies replied that the number of office occupants would increase, significantly
outweighing the percentage of companies expecting the number to decrease (4.6%) (Figure 2-1). As foroffice size, “Want to expand” (15.6%) exceeded “Want to downsize” (6.3%) (Figure 2-2). However, thefact that this percentage has not grown as much as the percentage of an expected increase in thenumber of office occupants over the years suggests that an increase in the number of office occupants
will not directly lead to an expansion of office size in the future due to the impact of the spread oftelework.
Figure 2-1: Future Number of Office Occupants

Figure 2-2: Future Change in Office Size

Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Summary Report>
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. This report may not be
reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute. © Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute

Topic 3
Looking at the current coming-to-office ratio (actual) in comparison over time, the percentage of“100% (come to office full time)” rose to 25.7%, the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic, comparedto the historical level of around 20% (Figure 3). As the pandemic subsides, some companies appear tobe summoning their employees back to the office from telework. Regarding future intentions, thepercentage of “100% (come to office full time)” is 25.6%, with the remaining 74.4% intending tocontinue implementing telework. The gap between actual and intention has shrunk compared toprevious surveys, indicating that reality is approaching intentions ahead of the end of the pandemic.
Figure 3: Actual and Intended Coming-to-Office Ratio (Comparison over Time)

Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Summary Report>
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. This report may not bereproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute. © Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute

Topic 4
The availability of a work-from-home policy has been declining since peaking out in the Spring 2021
survey, coming to 45.6% in this survey (Figure 4). On the other hand, the availability of satellite offices
has been rising every year, this time at 30.3%.
Figure 4: Availability of Work-from-Home Policy and Satellite Office

Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Summary Report>
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. This report may not be
reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute. © Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute

Topic 5
When asked about their interest in using the five major types of satellite offices, more than 40% of thecompanies replied that they “Want to use (already using)” or “Want to use somewhat” for all types(Figure 5). Interest was especially high for “① Intensive solo-work type” (63.0% in total) and “② Citycenter touchdown type” (62.8% in total), both types attracting a nearly 10 pt rise in interest from theAutumn 2020 survey. Interest in “③ Project site type” increased significantly by 15.3 pt, suggesting anexpansion in demand.
Figure 5: Interest in Using the Five Satellite Office Types

Please refer to the following PDF for details.
Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Detailed Report>, releasedon August 18, 2023
https://www.xymax.co.jp/english/research/images/pdf/20230818_detailed.pdf
The percentage mix in the charts contained in this report is rounded to the first decimal place and, therefore, may not add up to 100%.

For further inquiries, please contact below:Xymax Real Estate Institutehttps://soken.xymax.co.jp | E-MAIL: info-rei@xymax.co.jp

Metropolitan Areas Office Demand Survey Spring 2023 <Summary Report>
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. This report may not be
reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute. © Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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