In the first quarter of 2024, the total area of office space in Bratislava was almost 2.1 million m2. Of this, 19% was in the A+ standard and 37% in the A standard. However, the largest share, 44%, still falls to the B standard. The good news is that almost 41% of office space (that is, more than 850,000 m2) in Bratislava has a sustainability certificate BREEAM or LEED. This is also discussed in the quarterly report of the real estate consulting company CBRE, which brought several interesting findings.
THE VOLUME OF VACANT OFFICES DECLINED, THE CITY CENTER IS THE DRIVING DRIVER
At the end of the first quarter, the overall vacancy rate fell to 13.75%, while the city center continues to maintain the lowest vacancy rate at 8.62%. The positive thing is that the vacancy rate decreased quarter-on-quarter also within the Central Business District, which makes up more than a third of the total modern office offer in Bratislava.
2% YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH AND GREAT INTEREST IN HIGH-QUALITY OFFICES
At the beginning of 2024, the total rental activity of office space reached 46,125 m², which represents only a cosmetic year-on-year increase of 2%. In this quarter, however, net rental activity (so-called take-up) reached the value of 33,092 m2 and decreased by 7% year-on-year. The largest transaction was a new lease in the CBD (Central Business District). The total area of this rental transaction was 7,765 m2. This area was also the most active in terms of rentals, accounting for 52% of the total activity. In terms of sectors, consumer goods (9,900 m2) and professional services dominated. In the first quarter, 9 transactions were recorded, which exceeded the leasable area of 1000 m2.
RENT CONTINUES TO GROW, INTEREST IN PREMIUM PREMISES IS STRONG
The average rent in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 10.7% year-on-year and reached a value of €15.5 per m2/month. € m2/month. We expect that this trend will continue in the near future", assessed Oliver Galata, director of office real estate leasing at CBRE Slovakia.
"When we look at the categories of building standards, A+ class buildings clearly dominated, accounting for almost half of the total rental activity. They are primarily located in the CBD area. This only confirms the strong interest in high-quality office space," explains Peter Slovák, analyst at CBRE Slovakia.
NEW PROJECTS ARE INCREASING, BUT THE YEAR 2024 WILL BE WEAKER THAN LAST YEARS
In terms of the number of newly completed offices, 2024 will be one of the weaker ones. "The reconstruction of the premises of Sklad 7 by JTRE with a total leasable area of 4500 m2 is expected to be completed. Another project that should be completed this year is the first phase of Vydrica by Lucron, with a total leasable area of 2,400 m2," revealed Galata.
"In 2025, the office premises of OC Dunaj with an area of more than 6,000 m2 from CTP should be completed. The largest office project currently under construction – Chalupkova Offices by Penta Real Estate, is scheduled for completion in 2026. It will bring up to 18,500 m2 of new space to the market,” concludes Slovák.
