According to CBRE data, the vacancy rate reached 3.7%, amid high demand, a small surface area available with the projects completed and a high number of pre-lease contracts concluded for space still under construction.
“In 2018, the total lease activity, excluding renewals and renegotiations, reached 270,000 sqm, 11% lower than in 2017. 2019 will see a faster construction pace compared with 2018, being expected the delivery of 607,000 sqm, of which 27% located in regional towns and 55% pre-leased”, the CBRE report reads.
The total surface area traded in 2018 was 509,000 sqm, of which 45% targeted companies engrossed in storage activities, 35% was leased by distribution companies, 15% by companies in the field of logistics and 5% by manufacturing companies.
The Romanian market was dominated in 2018 by the projects of large real estate developers such as CTP Invest, WDP, Logicor and P3, which absorbed 61% of total demand.
Pre-lease contracts accounted for 41% of the surface area traded in the vicinity of Bucharest in 2018 and 68% of pre-lease contracts targeted space located in northern Bucharest. Nearly 440,000 sqm will be built in 2019 in bordering areas of Bucharest, according to CBRE.
2019 is expected to see the delivery of 607,000 sqm countrywide, with market leader CTP accounting for 47% real estate developments and Helios, Element Development, Transilvania Constructii and Zacaria accounting for the remaining 53%.