Bucharest: Office building market in the capital to reach almost 3.5 mln sqm at the end of the year

Demands for new office buildings continue to develop in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, but only five buildings totalling almost 100,000 sqm will be open for business this year. Should the new buildings come to fruition, the number will add up to almost 3.5 million sqm in the city at the end of 2023, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Victor Coşconel, Head of Office Director of Romanian-based Industrial Agencies, told Ziarul Financiar that the recent unpredictable economic climate makes it harder to foresee what will happen in the near future.

“We can also foresee a scenario where the office market will be in a delicate position from the perspective of the re-inflammation of the vacancy rate, but we can also have a scenario where we have an acute shortage of vacant office spaces in good buildings,” he said.

A surprisingly lower number compared to previous years, the market pulled a brake in recent years due to the rising inflation and the work-from-home trend in the workforce. Annually, demands for modern offices in Bucharest used to reach 200-300,000 sqm. Half of what’s available in the market at the moment has been around for over 10 years.

Cluj, on the other hand, is set to become Romania’s alternative answer to the rising demand. Last year, real estate investors have planned at least eight modern office buildings in the heart of Transylvania with an estimated total area of over 130,000 sqm by 2025 from what’s already available of over 260,00 sqm.

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