“Two large pre-letting transactions were concluded in the second quarter of 2011, representing a surface of 37,500 square meters, namely 49% of known demand. (…) The deals were signed for buildings started in previous years,” CBRE said in a news release.
Demand rose some 50% on the year in the second quarter of 2011, to 75,900 sqm. Compared to the second quarter of 2010, renegotiation and renewal activity declined by 60%, while pre-letting widened by 118%. Overall rental activity (which includes letting and renegotiations) reached 86,200 sqm, according to the survey.
Business area rents remained unchanged at EUR19.5/sqm per month, but the net rent declined by 8%-10%, as client incentives remain a wide practice.
“The yield is 8.5%, which reflects the focus of investors on this segment, after a first half of the year where offices were the most traded investment product,” CBRE said.
The average vacancy rate in Bucharest is 16.1%, lower than in the previous quarter, with variations depending on the area.
Thus, in the north side of Bucharest, for the first time in 18 months, the vacancy rate dropped below 10%, reaching 9.17%, according to CBRE estimations.
The west side saw the greatest stability in vacancy rate over the past several years, now standing at 11%, while the center holds the most diversified stock of buildings, and a vacancy rate of some 13%.
The outskirts, areas such as Pipera-North, East and South, see vacancy rates above 20%, without any significant changes compared to the first quarter of the year. In these areas, clients get the highest volume of incentives.
Office space stocks in Bucharest reach more than 2 million sqm.