JLL: New trend on Bucharest office market in the first quarter - growing interest for Piata Unirii area

If in Bucharest the transactions totalized 7,500 sq. m, the city of Iasi has attracted the largest contracts – 13,000 sq. m, while in Cluj-Napoca the rented area reached 1,700 sq. m.

The BPO, IT and construction companies were the main tenants of the rented areas brokered by the agency in the first quarter. The companies in these fields, interested in opening offices in Romania, does not look anymore for basic call centres with targeted rent of EUR 8/sq.m/month and employees with salaries of EUR 500/month, but they are now looking for activities with higher added value (development and research), willing to pay higher rents and salaries, the JLL specialists say.

"It is gratifying that we see an increased activity of the tenants in the first quarter. They seek not only modern office space in Bucharest, but also in other major cities in the country. JLL brokered contracts in the first quarter totalling an area nearly three times higher than in the same period in 2015. This is a record of the last 12 months. Moreover, currently we are discussing with several companies to enter the Romanian market, and if these negotiations are completed, we will see new names in Romania, interested in opening operations of BPO, SSC and IT in Romania", said Maria Florea, Head of Office Agency JLL Romania.

The most wanted areas for office rentals in Bucharest remain Floreasca- Barbu Văcărescu, Centre-West and more recently, Unirii area.

According to Maria Florea, this year we will continue to see consolidations in the financial and IT sectors, a trend started in the last two years and which has generated the largest office rental transactions (exceeding 20,000 sq. m), such as Genpact or Oracle.

 "There are some very large companies that are currently working to consolidate their activities in Bucharest in single quarters. They are looking for modern office spaces, not only to respond to financial aspects, but also to provide their employees offices with good access to public transport (especially the metro), but also other facilities. Given the performance of the office market early this year, we can estimate that 2016 will be another good year in terms of demand", explains Maria Florea, Head of Office Agency JLL Romania.

Rents remain stable this year, but owners are more and more willing to offer tenants more generous incentive packages, such as free rent moths or fit-out for the rented premises (Source: profit.ro)