Average area of office space transaction, up 35pct, nearing record of 2019

 The average area of an office space transaction was 1,810 square metres in the first nine months of 2023, the highest level of the last four years and close to that of 2019, when it registered a historical record of 1,900 square meters, according to a survey conducted by a real estate consulting company.Compared to 2022 and 2021, the average area of an office space transaction this year increased by 35%, a dynamic that was reflected in the total leasing activity in the first nine months (of 347,000 square meters), 56% above the volume in the similar period last year. Moreover, the third quarter set a historical quarterly record in terms of demand for office space, with a total area of 157,100 sqm contracted in Bucharest, according to a Cushman & Wakefield Echinox release.According to the quoted source, if the rental activity remains at least at the level of the first 3 quarters, we may see this year, for the first time in history, the threshold of 400,000 sqm of traded office space exceeded. However, net demand (excluding renegotiations of existing contracts) accounted for 35% of the total volume let in Q3, and 44% in the first nine months. The vacancy rate showed a minor decrease to 14.9% compared to the beginning of the year when it was 15.2%.In the third quarter, the second building of the U-Center office project (32,500 sqm GLA) developed by Forte Partners in the central area of Bucharest was completed, so that in the first nine months of the year deliveries of new office space totalled 102,500 sqm, bringing the stock to 3.41 million sqm.As for the projects under construction, the supply is quite limited (80,000 sqm of such spaces), the lowest level of the past 16 years, due to uncertainties related to urban planning issues.Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, Cushman & Wakefield's exclusive, independently owned and operated affiliate in Romania, comprises a team of over 80 professionals offering a full range of real estate consulting services to investors, developers, landlords and tenants.