Bucharest New Office Stock estimated at 120,000 sq. m in 2014

The ascendant trend will continue in 2014, on office and retail segments, as well as on land transactions and real estate investments.

2013 registered a significant growth of the request on the Bucharest office market, up to approx. 300,000 sq. m (A, B and C lass), with nearly 40% more than the precedent year and at the highest level in the last seven years.

From this total, 90% represented the modern office rentals (A and B class). 24% of the modern office space rented in 2013 is represented by new leases,  38% renegotiations, 11% expansions and 9% pre-leases.

Compared to 2012, in 2013 the new occupancies had 35% growth. The average area of the rent transactions signed for modern office spaces in Bucharest in 2013 was approx. 1,700 sq. m.

The vacancy rates at the delivery of the commercial centres in 2013 were lower than compared to the precedent years. Approx. 114,500 sq. m were delivered in 2013 on the commercial centres market in Romania - Promenada Mall in Bucharest, AFI Palace Ploieşti, Galaţi Shopping City, Uvertura Mall in Botoşani and Cora Brătianu in Constanţa.

In the following period, the most active zones will be Braşov (with four commercial centres in pipeline) and Eastern Bucharest (with two new commercial centres in pipeline).

2013 also registered a sale transaction including the biggest land area in Bucharest in the last five years, the industrial platform Aversa.

The commercial projects have represented the main product transacted on the investment market in Romania, with the retail sector pushing up the total transacted volume for 2013 to approx. EUR 250 million (except for pan-European transactions).

'The commercial real estate market has registered a healthy growth in 2013. Although the other segments registered activity and interest growth too, the office rentals sector remains the main engine of the market. We believe 2014 will bring the signature of important pre-leases -  a positive sign for the entire sector, including for possible speculative developments in the following period', said Horaţiu Florescu, president & CEO The Advisers/ Knight Frank. (source: economica.net)