Outside Bucharest, Modern Offices were Rented for 9,000 Employees in 2022

Most office rentals were made in Iasi, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Ploiesti and Brasov, according to the analysis conducted by Fortim Trusted Advisors, member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance.

The transactions of new office rental, relocation and pre-rental reached a total area of 70,393 sqm, 22% more than in 2021 (when they totalled 54,659 sqm).

“Only the first three major university centers in Iasi, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara have accumulated 89% of the total demand for modern office spaces outside Bucharest. Most of the new spaces were rented in Iasi, and most of the spaces traded, including renegotiations, were in Timisoara (37%).The cities that had ongoing deliveries of high-performance office buildings in 2022-2023 recorded the most consistent increases compared to the previous year and in the number of transactions, but also in the total volume of new leased spaces“, comment Nicolae Ciobanu Managing Partner- Head of Advisory, from Fortim Trusted Advisors, an alliance member of BNP Paribas Real Estate.

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Bucharest versus the other university centers

In Bucharest, three times as many new offices were rented as in all the other major cities, combined. In Bucharest, in 2022, new offices were rented, relocated and pre-rented offices with a total area of 214,911 sqm.

The growth rate of the capital’s market was 13% compared to the previous year, 9% less than in the rest of the country.

“Since the first months of this year, there are rental applications for modern office spaces in the university centres of Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Brasov. In 2022, the ratio between the rental market in Bucharest and the other cities was 3/1, but we expect this ratio to decrease over time. First, the demand from the IT&C companies, which dominate the market, continuously pursues a territorial expansion, in search of the workforce in the university centres. And secondly, the supply of new modern spaces in the other cities is increasing. In 2023-2024, in the five cities in the top – Iasi, Cluj-Napoca, Brasov, Timisoara and Craiova, there are modern office buildings in pipeline, which benefit from building permits with a total area of about 200,000 sqm, as expected to be delivered in Bucharest”, says Bogdan Cange, Managing Partner- Business Development, at Fortim Trusted Advisors, member of the Alliance BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Deliveries of new modern buildings are quickly absorbed by demand

Iasi was the city that attracted the newest tenants in 2022, after Bucharest. In total, large companies have rented and pre-rented office space with a total of 26,378 sqm, which represents 37% of the total rentals outside Bucharest.

The greatest merit of this performance is due to the Palas Campus project, which is under construction, and which is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of this year. Among the future tenants are AMD, which signed a pre-lease agreement for an area of 3,000 sqm, Expleo, also 3,000 sqm, Preh Romania, 4,500 sqm, Microsoft, with an area of 3,300 sqm.

Timisoara was in second place in terms of new office rentals and in first place, if we consider office renegotiations (contracts that were renewed after a cycle or two of rental). In Timisoara, last year, UBC 0 was delivered, an office tower with 17 floors and a total area of 32,000 sqm, which is part of the mixed-use project Iulius Town Timisoara.

Among the future tenants of this tower, who have signed a pre-lease contract are ZF R&D Tech Center (2,800 sq m), Amazon (3,320 sq m).

Cluj-Napoca is on the third place in the top of the demand for modern offices, in 2022, after leading this ranking in 2021. Among the office companies that have chosen to expand in Cluj-Napoca in 2022 are HTEC, Accenture, Globant and Brillio.

In Brasov, most new tenants opted for the AFI Brasov and Coresi Business Campus projects.

Main Photo: Cluj Napoca modern office buildings (dreamstime.com)