Romania’s northeastern city of Iasi ranks first in terms of office space transactions, with 4,420 sqm, followed by central city of Sibiu (3,900 sqm) and northwestern city of Cluj Napoca (3,500 sqm).
According to Esop, this is the largest volume of office space transactions outside Bucharest over the past three years, exceeding in volume the record high of 10,572 sqm registered in 2011.
Western city of Timisoara comes fourth with six office space transactions- two deals in the third quarter and four deals in the second quarter, totaling 2,053 sqm.
Esop said one of the main reasons behind the expansion outside Bucharest is the growing competition on the labor market, mainly on the IT&C segment.
In 2010, office space rentals in Brasov, Cluj Napoca, Iasi, Ploiesti and Timisoara totaled 9,460 sqm.
In 2011, the total volume of transactions outside Bucharest saw a slight increase to 10,572 sqm, compared to 2010. Cargill, Volskbank and Amera were among the famous clients in 2011.
The year 2012 was not so good for transactions outside Bucharest, as only 4,958 sqm of office space were leased. Sibiu, Timisoara and Cluj Napoca were the most popular cities.
Office space transactions in Bucharest stood at 208,920 sqm in the first nine months of 2013, up 25% from the same period in 2012, as activity picked up in the third quarter.