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mid an overall decline in the property market, office take-up in Jakarta's non-Central Business District (CBD) area rose by 62 percent in the first quarter from last quarter, a property consultant revealed Wednesday.

Office space take-up increased to 9,000 square meters in the first quarter of the year from the previous three-month period, Jones Lang LaSalle said in its report, bucking the overall trend in other property subsectors that declined on lower demand.

The decline in the overall property take-up, however, has so far failed to push down prices.

The company's head of research, Anton Sitorus, said prices were relatively stable in almost all subsectors, despite slowing demand.

Even the slight price increase in non-CBD areas, from Rp 101,080 per square meter per month on average to Rp 101,590, was not due to higher demand but more to the strengthening of the dollar against the rupiah during this period, he said.

Anton added the significant rise in office space take-up in the first quarter would continue in the next quarters, predicting that for the year, office take-up in the non-CBD area would increase significantly from 30,000 square meters last year to between 50,000 and 70,000 square meters this year.

"Most of the absorption will be made in the T.B. Simatupang area as more firms, particularly multinational ones, tend to get closer to their employees, who prefer the southern areas due to its good environment and public facilities," Anton said.

Jones Lang LaSalle chairwoman Lucy Rumantir said only companies strongly related to the financial market and the stock exchange would remain in the CBD, which is bounded by Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. Rasuna Said.

Others will tend to move to non-CBD areas in T.B. Simatupang, Pluit, Kemayoran and even as far afield as Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) and Lippo Karawaci.

The increasing demand for office space in non-CBD areas is due to their efficiency factor, as prices are lower, and convenient commuting for employees, with a number of toll road projects that will link T.B. Simatupang with the Jakarta Outer Ring Road currently under construction.

"That's why firms like Siemens, Nestl* and many others have moved to T.B. Simatupang," she said.

The absorption in the CBD area fell by 26 percent to around 40,000 square meters, although lower demand did not lead to cheaper prices, as prices rose slightly by less than 3 percent to Rp 139,750 during the first quarter.