The entire area delivered in 2014 was approx. 121,000 sq. m, close to the one registered in 2013.
In 2015, the large projects in construction will be completed: Green Court Building B, AFI Park 4&5, City Offices and Sema Park 3rd Phase.
The modern office stock in Bucharest reached currently 2.16 million sq. m. Considering that the market has stabilized, the developers announced a large number of projects in 2014, most of them situated on the two sub-markets in northern Bucharest (Floreasca-Barbu Vacarescu and Dimitrie Pompeiu) and the central-western part which will mainly attract the dynamic companies with rapid expansion in IT field.
Therefore the offer of new spaces will significantly increase in 2016, when approx. 240,000 sq. m will be delivered, with more than 30 pct pre-rented. However, taking into account the low office area to be delivered in 2015 on these two sub-markets, the JLL officials expect that the level of rents stays unchanged.
The average vacancy rate has decreased in 4Q 2014 with more than 100 pct to 13.3%, the lowest level in the last six years, due to the new projects delivered with large pre-rented areas and strong request. JLL foresees that the average vacancy rate will continue to drop in 2015, as the delivered area will be probably surpassed by the new request.
The vacancy rate is very different considering the sub-markets, starting from less than 10 pct in CBD, North, West and Dimitrie Pompeiu and reaching 35 pct. in Baneasa and Pipera North, reflected by the evolution of rents.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, the total office takeover was 102,400 m2, the new request (including new leases, expansions and pre-rentals) being of approx. 47,800 m2, while 34,600 m2 were renegotiations. The total request in 2014 reached a record level of 295,000 m2, slightly above the value registered in 2013.
The largest transactions in 4Q were the pre-rental of Telekom in Globalworth Campus (25,000 m2) and the renegotiation of Renault in North Gate (20,000 m²). Taking into consideration the geographical area the most dynamic of the sub-markets was Dimitrie Pompeiu, with over 48 pct. of the total of rentals, followed by CBD and Floreasca-Barbu Vacarescu.
Considering the range of activity, the companies in the IT&C and Telecom sectors were the most active, being involved in more than 40 pct of the transactions volume, followed by the services companies. The prime contractual rents for office spaces remained unchanged since 4Q 2014, at EUR 18.5/sq. m/month.
The financial incentives continued to be consistent, the owners offering both free months from the payment of rent as well as contributions for the fit-out works. The packages of incentives vary according to the type of request and become important mainly for the large areas (exceeding 2,000-3,000 sq. m). The new office spaces scheduled for delivery in 2015 is estimated around 120,000 sq. m, a similar value to the one registered in 2014.
JLL analysts expect that the total office takeover to be similar to the one in 2014, but with a larger number of pre-rentals. The average vacancy rate will drop slightly in 2015 and the prime contractual rents will remain unchanged in 2015, JLL officials consider. (source: dailybusiness.ro)
