Bucharest lost two positions last year, falling to the 37th place in a list compiled by the Cushman&Wakefield real estate consultancy company in 57 cities worldwide, in terms of annual occupancy cost of office spaces.
At the end of 2008, the annual occupancy cost of office spaces in downtown Bucharest, including rent and various services, was €367 per square meter, similar to the level registered in Vancouver, Canada, according to the “Office Space Across the World 2009” study.
“Rents were unchanged in Romania over the course of 2008. Occupier demand has started to decline in the prime office submarkets of Bucharest with occupiers taking longer to make decisions. Despite supply levels rising, the vacancy rate remains low,” the study indicates.
Moreover, occupiers will seek less expensive spaces, so demand is expected to rise in the peripheral submarkets of the city in the near future. Bucharest is more expensive than Helsinki (€360/sqm/year), or Lisbon and Buenos Aires (€353/sqm/year).
