Flexible Workspaces Dominate Indian Demand as 73% of Office Searches Move Beyond Traditional Leasing
New Delhi, April 23, 2026: A fundamental shift is underway in India’s commercial real estate landscape, with 73 percent of office searches now focused on flexible workspaces. According to a comprehensive new report by myHQ titled “How India Searches for its Office Needs?”, traditional leasing now accounts for less than 27 percent of total workspace enquiries, signaling a move toward on-demand and flexible formats.
The study is the most extensive demand-side analysis of the Indian market to date, utilizing 387,000 verified enquiries across 30 countries, nine years of Google Search data, and geographic insights. The findings reveal that coworking queries are now generating five times the volume of traditional office searches. While interest in traditional offices has grown by 48% since 2022, demand for coworking is consistently outpacing it in absolute terms.
Utkarsh Kawatra, Co-Founder and CEO of myHQ, noted that search data is providing a real-time window into changing corporate behavior. He stated:
“Search data is revealing behaviour before it shows up in transactions. What stands out here is not just the scale of demand for flexible workspaces but how specific that demand has become. Corporate professionals are no longer searching for office space in the traditional sense but are instead searching specifically for meeting rooms, day offices, and virtual addresses. India has stopped searching for just offices—it’s now searching for what it needs the office for! That is where the market is evolving and expanding.”
The report highlights a surge in intent-based searches. While generic “coworking” queries are beginning to plateau, outcome-specific categories now account for nearly 90% of coworking search demand. Meeting room searches have exploded by 187% over three years, while virtual office and day pass searches have grown by 99% and 20% respectively. Additionally, while “managed office space” searches have grown 778% since 2022, they remain 20 times lower in volume than coworking, suggesting a gap between industry terminology and how users actually search for solutions.
Sustainability has also emerged as a non-negotiable factor at the discovery stage. Seven of the ten most-searched office parks in India are green-certified developments, representing over 66% of total office park search volume. The data suggests that environmental certification is no longer a premium differentiator but a “default filter” for modern businesses.
The report also sheds light on the diversifying demographic of decision-makers and the global appeal of the Indian market. Women now account for approximately one in four workspace enquiries, with Bengaluru and Mumbai leading this trend. Furthermore, international searches make up 3% of total volume, led by the United States (28.9%), the UK (12.8%), and the UAE (11.9%). This global interest is primarily driven by the expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), NRI business registrations, and return-migration planning by Indian professionals based overseas.
