Bucharest is followed by the city of Cluj-Napoca, with 13%, the city of Timisoara, with 2%, and the remaining 1% is covered by the cities of Brasov, Sibiu and Galati.
In total, modern offices with a total area of 205,853 square meters were leased in the first half of 2024, 0.2% more than in the same period of 2023.
Most companies that leased office spaces in Bucharest operate in the IT&C sector (29%), which is closely followed by the private education sector. The biggest contract signed in the first months of 2024 targeted a 10,000-sqm space leased by Genesis College in Petrom City site located in northern Bucharest.
The most sought-after locations were in the northern part of Bucharest, namely, Floreasca – Barbu Vacarescu, and in the city center.
In January-June 2024, the city of Cluj-Napoca saw 28,770 sqm of office spaces being leased, five times more than a total of just 5,422 sqm leased in the same period of 2023. The increase in 2024 is due mainly to lease contract extensions.
The city of Timisoara lags way behind in terms of volume, with a total surface area of 4,898 sqm being leased in 2024, lower than 7,650 sqm leased in the same period of 2023.
“The office space vacancy rate dropped both in Bucharest, to 13.4% (from 14.9% in early 2024), and in Cluj-Napoca, to 11% (from 13.8%), due to the lack of new office space deliveries. In the coming period, real estate developers will be cautious and will set off large projects only as they sign pre-lease contracts (…),” said Costin Nistor, Managing Director at Fortim Trusted Advisors.