“This is the second year in a row when the office market in Bucharest rises in the first half, which is a sign the full year will be better than last year in terms of office space leases. The driver of the office market was the relocation segment, which went up 61%, while lease renewals went down 33%. In the first half of 2014, spaces leased to new tenants, known as relocation deals, were larger than the spaces for which leases were renewed,” real estate consultancy firm Esop said Monday.
Relocation accounted for 106,750 sqm, while renewals only accounted for 25,259 sqm, a 33% drop on the year. Relocation includes companies moving from one office building to another, existing or under construction, as well as expansions. Pre-leases, contracts signed for buildings under construction, account for half of the relocations in the first half of the year (32,800 sqm).
The largest part of leased spaces this year was in existing office buildings, of 57,573 sqm, accounting for 40% of the total.
Spaces of more than 3,000 sqm accounted for 44% of leases in the first half, more than double than last year, when spaces this size accounted for 21%. The overall office rental market increased 27% in the first half.
Last year, the office market was dominated by leases of spaces of up to 1,000 sqm, which accounted for 40% of the total.