The flex office market ismore than just hype and headlines. According to a new report fromCBRE, flex office space is here to stay. While theoffice niche only takes up 2% of the total office supply in the US,it has experienced rapid growth driven buy significant officedemand. By 2022, market data forecasts that 1 million workers willwork out of a flexible office space, illustrating the strongdemand.

"We have seen a structural shift to flexibility that is here tostay," Julie Whelan, head of occupier research forthe Americas at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. "This segment of spacewould not have skyrocketed to where it is today if occupier demandwasn't fueling it. Occupier demand driving growth to dateremains strong as we head into 2020, as headcount uncertainty anddecentralized workforces only become more normal circumstances thatorganizations need to grapple with. The flexible space model mayshift from where we are today, but the fundamentals of speed,flexibility and low capital outlay will remain staples of occupancydecisions."

There have instantly been big names in the flex office space.WeWork, of course, leads the market nationally, accounting forone-third of the total flex supply. The second third of space isdominated by nine flex office operators, but in total, there arenearly 700 providers of flexible space across the US. "Diversity ofoffering is important for the health of this flexible office spacemarket," says Whelan. "With diversity comes choice foroccupiers and options for landlords. We feel that theplayers that either have a broad scale across the US, a local angleas a recognized quality provider or a niche offering that caters toa specific need in the marketplace will succeed. Longterm, the number of individual operators will condense but there isroom on the field for different types of models and offerings tomeet the needs of varied consumer demands."