The vacancy rate dropped one percentage point quarter-to-quarter, to 15.7% at the end of the first half of 2014, but year on year the fall is of just 0.8 of a point, from 16.5%, according to the real estate consultancy firm’s data.
Bucharest currently has 333,000 sqm of vacant office space, more than 30% of which is in the northern region of Pipera, where the vacancy rate dropped 4 points in the first half, to 21%.
Bucharest’s modern office stock reached 2.114 million sqm at the end of June, of which nearly 3% were new deliveries. Developers are expected to deliver 132,000 sqm of office space this year, of which 60% is already leased. In the first half of the year, developers completed five office buildings with a leasable area of 68,500 sqm, mostly in the western part of Bucharest.
In the first half, lease volumes stood at 108,000 sqm, 25% higher on the year.
Relocation deals continue to dominate the market, accounting for 72% of all office space leases. New demand – expansions and new tenants – was 40% higher than in the first half of 2013 and accounts of 28% of lease volumes.
Prime rents have remained stable in the first half of the year, ranging from EUR16-18/sqm/month in the central business area, to EUR15-17/sqm/month in the center-north area, down to EUR12-15/sqm/month in semi-central areas and EUR9-12/sqm/month on the city outskirts.