Stalled office market fuels sub-leasing

Relocations were the main source of revenues on the office leasing segment, with most of the demand coming from small and medium companies active in business consultancy, IT and private medical services, public institutions and utilities providers. These companies currently occupy class B offices. Potential tenants are looking for completed rather than under construction office space, especially as ongoing projects do not have other signed pre-leases. Finished offices made up a 17 percent smaller area in the first half of the year than in the same period of 2008, due to the several months of delay suffered by projects which should have been delivered during this period. Bucharest office stock has reached 2.1 million sqm of built area. Of the office space finished in the first half of the year, only 40 percent is actually occupied. Rents fell by 15 percent in the first half of this year in all types of office buildings, with the average rents for class A downtown offices dropping to around EUR 18 to EUR 20 per sqm per month.
Corina Saceanu