Bucharest rental activity up 20 percent, study shows

Bucharest rental activity went up 20 percent in volume in Q1 of 2010 from the same period of 2009, to 63,000 sqm, a study by BNP Paribas Real Estate shows. This was due mainly to tenant relocation. Rents fell by 15-25 percent between Q1 2009 and 2010, depending on the quality, location and occupancy of the property. Yields for class A properties increased from 8.5 percent in Q1 of 2009 to about 9 percent in Q1 of 2010.

Overall, the European Office Occupancy Rate index was up 8.6 percent for the second quarter in a row. Rental activity has gone up on almost all European markets. The occupied surface is not expected to increase imminently as companies are still being affected by the economic downturn, meaning rental activity will be backed up by relocations made for cost-cutting purposes.