Corporations are also using these flexible spaces to attract new talent. In fact, cities with large student populations, like Los Angeles, which has the second largest student population in the country, are more likely to have a large supply of flexible office space. “We certainly see that correlation,” adds Gilbreath. “L.A. and New York are two of our largest markets in terms of space availability on flexible terms. Student population activity is becoming increasingly important to corporations in terms of where they are looking to build presence in terms of hiring and retention. Historically, corporations' perspective around location and portfolio was that they would build a headquarters and employees will come there. Companies are now recognizing that they will need to have a distributed presence in terms of their ability to hire more talent. If you then look at some of these markets, you can already see a correlation between student population and shared workspaces.”

Cities with smaller student populations, however, are also seeing a large supply of flexible office space. San Francisco is the prime example. The market is on the lower end of the scale in terms of student population, but has a robust tech and start-up market that is driving demand in flexible office space. “San Francisco has a large and mature shared space culture, but one of the big drivers in the San Francisco Bay area is the high density of entrepreneurship and technology start-ups. Those firms tend to grow through their early stages in flexible environments,” says Gilbreath. “So, while the student population my lag that of some academic centers, San Francisco's big driver is tech and start-ups. We are identifying student populations as an emerging driver of this space, but we are by no means are we suggesting that is the only factor that influences the supply of this space.” This really illustrates the abundance of demand drivers for this sector of office space.

Los Angeles is one of the top markets in the country for flexible office space, thanks to the market's booming tech and start-up industries and its sizable student population. Now, corporate users are signing up for flexible spaces that allow them to be closer to talent and provide offices to mobile employees. LiquidSpace, a platform that pairs employees with short-term spaces, has produced its third quarterly report to track the niche office sector, and found a long runway of growth ahead for Los Angeles and the nation.

“There is a greater quantity and density of co-working spaces and shared workplace environments in L.A. on a per-capita basis relative to other similar or larger markets like San Francisco and New York. That reality reflects well with what we are seeing in transactional activity as well as a knowledge of the worker base there. L.A. from a employee base is at the high end of the scale for freelancer employees. One out of five employees in L.A. self reports as a freelancer,” Mark Gilbreath, CEO and founder of LiquidSpace, tells GlobeSt.com. “Where we see strong freelancer communities, we in turn see a higher amount of engagement with co-working and shared workplace environments and a higher percentage of customers transacting space on short terms versus long-term commitments to space.”

The demand for flexible workspaces is now much broader than we have seen in the past. In fact, LiquidSpace's 2Q17 report shows that 44% of corporations are currently using some type of flexible workspace, whether that is executive suites or co-working spaces. The demand drivers are various—everything from cost savings to talent retention to promotion of networking needs—and they are effectuating more corporate interest in flexible office. “The other thing that we are seeing in L.A. is the corporate adoption of platforms like ours to support the mobility needs of distributed employees,” says Gilbreath. “In L.A., we have many corporate clients that use LiquidSpace to support the needs of their sale and marketing personnel that might be traveling around the Southern California bases and are looking for space in short-term tranches.”

Corporations are also using these flexible spaces to attract new talent. In fact, cities with large student populations, like Los Angeles, which has the second largest student population in the country, are more likely to have a large supply of flexible office space. “We certainly see that correlation,” adds Gilbreath. “L.A. and New York are two of our largest markets in terms of space availability on flexible terms. Student population activity is becoming increasingly important to corporations in terms of where they are looking to build presence in terms of hiring and retention. Historically, corporations' perspective around location and portfolio was that they would build a headquarters and employees will come there. Companies are now recognizing that they will need to have a distributed presence in terms of their ability to hire more talent. If you then look at some of these markets, you can already see a correlation between student population and shared workspaces.”

Cities with smaller student populations, however, are also seeing a large supply of flexible office space. San Francisco is the prime example. The market is on the lower end of the scale in terms of student population, but has a robust tech and start-up market that is driving demand in flexible office space. “San Francisco has a large and mature shared space culture, but one of the big drivers in the San Francisco Bay area is the high density of entrepreneurship and technology start-ups. Those firms tend to grow through their early stages in flexible environments,” says Gilbreath. “So, while the student population my lag that of some academic centers, San Francisco's big driver is tech and start-ups. We are identifying student populations as an emerging driver of this space, but we are by no means are we suggesting that is the only factor that influences the supply of this space.” This really illustrates the abundance of demand drivers for this sector of office space.