In S1 2023, the total volume of transactions on the Bucharest office market reached 176,900 sqm.
From this, (Pre) Leases & Expansions represented 54%, and the remaining 46% was represented by Renewal / Renegotiation transactions.
(Pre) Lease & Expansions, By Area
The most sought-after area in S1 2023 was the Central-North one, with 69% of the total (Pre)Lease & Expansions volume, followed at a great distance by the Central-West area with 18% and the Downtown, with only 6%.
(Pre) Lease & Expansions, By Industry
The IT&C industry had clearly led the office market in S1 2023, with 35% of the newly leased areas. This represents an increase of 50% of its percentage compared to 2022 when the IT industry represented 23% of the transactions.
The Financial Services and FMCG sectors followed with 14% and respectively 8% of the leased area.
Relative Stability on Office Leasing
S1 2023 maintained both on (Pre) Leases & Expansions and on Renewals segment a volume relatively close to S2 2022.
The (Pre) Leasing & Expansions segment maintains yet in S1 2023 at a 17% lower level than the first semester of 2022.
At the end of S1 2023, four office buildings were completed in Bucharest, with a total leasable area of 88,700 sqm.
OUTLOOK
Although if compared to S1 2022, the deliveries have been 11% lower this semester, the total annual volume in 2023 is expected to reach 136,500 sqm by the end of the year. This level would represent an increase of 28% compared to the office spaces delivered in 2022.
Considering yet that for 2024 there will be highly limited new deliveries, as most initially planned projects have delayed the commencement of the construction works, office deliveries will be under pressure for the following 12-18 months. This will be compensated by a series of office spaces becoming available in existing buildings, where leases reach expiry dates and tenants renew a new cycle for a smaller size, in the context of the hybrid working systems.
Asking Rent Levels in S1 2023
In S1 2023, the asking rent level of several office buildings got slightly increased, due to the high inflation rate on the market.
Please find below a general view of the market rents level in Bucharest, in Mid-2023.
Founder Partner of ESOP Consulting CORFAC International, coordinator of the Corporate Office Spaces division, with 18 years of experience in real estate consulting and entrepreneurship.
In Q3 2023, the total volume of transactions on the Bucharest office market reached 165,480 sqm, close to the total for the first semester of the year. The most sought-after area in Q3 2023 was the Central-South one, which though only 5 transactions concentrated 37% of the volume of (Pre) Lease & Expansions The IT&C […]
The distribution of the tenants according to their sector of activity was very balanced in this quarter. The most sought-after area was the Center-North, with 71% of the companies’ preference for renting new spaces. At the end of the first quarter of 2023 in Bucharest, three office buildings were completed, with a total leasable area […]
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