Bucharest modern office stock reached 3.30 mln. sq m at the end of first half of 2022, as four office projects with approximately 100,000 leasable sq m were delivered, according to CBRE data.
The West area of the city represents almost 60% of the new supply, as Sema Park II (31,500 leasable sq m) and AFI Tech Park 2 (24,500 leasable sq m) – were added to stock.
At the same time, the Center and North-West sub-markets include two new deliveries, Tandem and the first phase of Expo Business Park.
Moreover, another 41,400 sq m in two office buildings will be added to modern stock by the end of the year.
83% of the total area to be delivered will be added to the Center-West area’s stock, in one building, One Cotroceni – phase 2, with a GLA of 34,500 sq m.
The remaining 17% is claimed by Center sub-market which will welcome Tudor Arghezi office scheme, a 7,000 leasable sq m project. At the same time, Bucharest’s modern office stock will have another approx. 94,000 sq by the end 2023.
Between January and June, the total office leasing activity in Bucharest reached 132,500 sq m, 18% higher compared with the same period of 2021.
The total transactions excluding renewal/renegotiation represented 70% of the total leasing activity and was with 60% higher compared with H1 2021.
The largest transaction was concluded by Booking, which leased 9,000 sq m in U-Center Campus phase 1. Another important transaction is the lease of 6,500 sq m in Immofinanz’s office building, Victoria Park by Leventer Hospital.
Regarding pre-leases, the largest deal was concluded in Q1 2022 by the iGaming software supplier, EveryMatrix, which secured 7,500 sq m in the Center office sub-market.
Renewal/renegotiation transactions accounted for 38,100 sq m, with 16,600 sq m less than the amount renegotiated during the same period of 2021.
With 25%, 22% and 21% from the total leasing activity, Center, Center-West and Floreasca / Barbu Vacarescu are the top three office sub-markets.
Next are the CBD sub-markets with a percentage of 17%, followed by Baneasa – Otopeni, South, North -West, Dimitrie Pompeiu and Pipera North office areas (15% from total leasing activity).
In terms of demand, Computers & Hi-Tech sector leads the market, with 32% of the total leased area in the first six months of 2022, followed by Consumer Services & Leisure (16%) and Professional (15%) sectors.
At the end of Q2, Bucharest modern office stock recorded a vacancy rate of 13.9%, similar with the level from the end of the previous quarter. When analyzing exclusively class A office schemes, the vacancy rate drops at 11.7% at H1 2022.
Starting with the first months of the year, prime rent increased with 0.25 EUR / sq m/month, remaining stable at the end of Q2, at 19.00 EUR / sq m/month.