TOP AREAS TRANSACTIONS S1 2014: In the Center-North and Center-West double Transactions, in the North decrease

• The volume of relocation transactions increased in the first half by 61%, while contract renewals decreased by 33%
• Within this significant advance of relocations, the amount of office space rented in the center-north area doubled in H1 2014 compared to H1 2013, from 36,077 sqm to 73,001 sqm
• The share of tenants moved to the Center-North is 75% of the total market in the first half of 2014

In the first semester of 2014, in the TOP OF ZONES in Bucharest preferred by the tenants of the new offices, it leads like last year Center-North, but at a volume more than double compared to the first half of 2013. The order in the ranking has changed from second place to down: in the second position, the Center-West went up, and the North went down on three. The ultra-central area is in fourth place, rising by one position, to a volume of rented spaces almost equal to that of the first half of 2013.

“The center-north area was and will continue to remain in the next 1-2 years the most traded perimeter in Bucharest on the office market, for two significant reasons: tenants have a high interest in this area, due to its proximity to the airport, of top residential areas and private educational institutions and because here there is a rich offer of new or relatively recently built office spaces, of high quality.

At the moment, the large volume of the offer in the center-north area (which amounts to over 450,000 sq m in class A, B and C buildings, i.e., 39% of the total spaces in Bucharest) leads implicitly to a competition between buildings, higher than in other areas, which creates a favorable context for tenants, existing rents 5 to 10% more attractive than in different regions of Bucharest “, says Mirela Raicu, Corporate Office Division Manager within ESOP Consulting at CORFAC International.

Last year, apart from the north-central area and the north area, the tenants were better rated on the second place in the list of their options. We expect that the more accentuated dynamics of trading in H1 2014 will be maintained for the next 6-12 months in the context of the continued existence of a larger volume of intentions and relocation analyzes, started by companies.

“For the preferred areas, in the next 6-12 months, we do not believe that there will be changes in positions and surprises. The center-north area will remain the leader at the top of transactions.

In the long run, however, we believe it is necessary. We hope that it will move to a more balanced way of developing the city. There are already important developers evaluating the acquisition of land or starting projects in other areas, especially in the Center-West.

A more proportionate distribution of the stock of office space is a more sustainable way of developing the city, not putting pressure on road traffic and public transport infrastructure and offering tenants a more comprehensive range of options and will also benefit developers because will reduce competition within an area “, estimates Mirela Raicu, Corporate Office Division Manager within ESOP Consulting | CORFAC International.