According to CBRE data, H1 2018 traded 149,000 m2. In terms of deliveries, the first part of the year registered a relatively slow pace, with 28,000 m2 completed and put into use, but the agency's estimates for the second half of the year are optimistic: 158,000 m2 are under construction and will be completed by end of the year. Of the total office space stock, 47% are Class A buildings.

"The decline in vacancy rates is a clear signal that Bucharest's office space segment needs as many new projects as possible in order to meet the demand that accelerates. An important contribution to the increase in employment is the co-working companies, such as Spaces, which have a growing activity and are expanding rapidly", said Mihai Păduroiu, Head of Advisory & Transaction Services - Office of CBRE Romania.

Of the 149,000 m2 traded in H1 2018, 80% are in Class A office buildings. About 20% of the transaction type is represented by renewals and renegotiations, and the remaining 80% is divided into: new contracts (15%), relocations (22%), pre-leasing (36%) and extensions (7%).

The ranking of the largest rental transactions, which mark the office space market in H1 2018, covers areas ranging from 12,000 m2 to 3,000 m2 occupied by major companies in areas such as industrial production and energy, IT, co-working or retail.

In H1, the office space segment recorded the most demand from IT companies (27%), followed by major players in the industrial and energy sector (26%) and business services (17%), retail (17%) and financial (6%).

The areas with the lowest vacancy rate are the northern area (4.2%), where is the largest stock of office space in the capital (782,000 m2), the CBD (Victoriei Square, Charles de Gaulle Square - 4.7%), followed by the western area (7.3%).

The most active areas in terms of rental activity were: the western area (36% of the total rental volume), the central area (24%) and the northern area (16%). In the second semester of the year, 62% of the 158,000 m2 scheduled for completion will be delivered to the West and 38% to the center and CBD. About 70% of the office space that is announced for H2 2018 has already been pre-leased.

The average contract rent is unchanged compared to the last period and is estimated at 18.5 euro / m2 / month. (source: CBRE)