SOMA has the most flexible workspace centers, exemplified by the WeWork office there (credit: instantoffices.com).
SAN FRANCISCO—Citywide, the average cost-per-desk is $1,046, making San Francisco the fourth most expensive US city behind Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Instant Group's research. It is also one of the fastest-growing flexible workspace markets in the world, alongside New York and Los Angeles.
“The demand for flexible workspace in San Francisco has increased 17% year-over-year. The number of centers has grown 20% to 139,” James Rankin, head of research for Instant Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “The profile of the clients looking for space has also changed from the smaller start-up firms to fast-growing 'scale-up' businesses and multi-national corporate clients. These clients are looking into flexible space prominently in more mature markets such as San Francisco.”
Instant Group analyzed the average monthly cost-per-desk in key neighborhoods, as well as the year-over-year growth in each of these submarkets. Last year, San Francisco experienced a 13% increase in centers offering co-working, flexible and hybrid office space. This was against an already established base, with high desk rates indicating the strength of the market. South of Market has the most flexible workspace centers, while the Financial District is the most expensive in the city with an average monthly cost-per-desk of $1,500.
“Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent a desk, San Francisco continues to be one of the fastest growing flexible workspace markets in the world,” said Michelle Bodick, managing director, Americas sales and marketing for the Instant Group. “We are pleased to expand our Bay Area team to support this growth.”
The Instant Group not only places companies in flexible workspace but has expanded its team with a number of senior hires in San Francisco. Marie Phillips has been promoted to lead the West Coast sales team with sales strategy and expand Instant's market presence. Matt Mulry joins Instant as a business development director from a six-year tenure with CBRE.
Jess Kempton relocated to San Francisco from Instant in London as account executive where she will help the newly established team drive client collaboration. Additionally, Marissa Mokler has joined Instant as account executive from TechSpace, a flexible office and co-working provider where she was responsible for marketing, leasing and operations of a San Francisco center.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
