In comparison, the vacancy rate was 8.1% at the end of September 2018, according to the data supplied by CBRE Research, the research department of real estate consultant CBRE Romania.
The rise in the vacancy rate is, on the one hand, due to the amount of space delivered that was almost double compared with the same time last year. Ten new projects were delivered in Bucharest in the first nine months of 2019, with a total area of 254,000 square meters, which took the stock to 3.16 million square meters. Not all areas did the same in terms o occupancy rate, as some of them were better positioned than others.
“If we look at the business areas, the biggest changes happened in the CBD (Central Business District) area, where the vacancy rate fell 23%, as a result of the limited amount of new office space delivered, while West was exactly the opposite. The rise in the vacancy rate in the West area was largely due to the high number of projects completed, 50% of the total volume in Bucharest,” said Daniela Boca, Head of Research, CBRE Romania.
The development of projects in certain areas of Bucharest such as the West is because companies are trying to reduce the amount of time employees spend on commuting to and from work to no more than one hour per day on average.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)