Office Space Market
SUPPLY
By the end of 2009, the total inventory of Class A and Class B office space in Belgrade amounted to 732,000 sqm according to the Colliers Serbia report, while the CB Richard Ellis office estimated the total Belgrade office stock at app. 450,000 sqm of GLA. Last year the total Belgrade office stock increased by 77,500 sqm of Class A and 59,500 sqm of Class B office space. International developers were oriented towards the construction of modern buildings, which influenced the offer of high-quality office space in favor of Class A buildings.
DEMAND
The demand in Belgrade office market in H2 2009 amounted to app. 30,000 sqm, which shows a major increase in comparison with H1 2009. At the end of 2009, the annual take-up reached around 50,000 sqm, indicating similar results achieved in 2008. The number of signed deals in 2009 outstripped that of 2008 by more than 15%, with 55% of transactions being lower than 300 sqm, and 70% of deals under 600 sqm.
The overall office vacancy rate in Belgrade stood at 19.7% at the end of 2009, reaching 17.5% for Class A and 23.1% for Class B space. The total amount of vacant office space reached around 48,500 sqm of Class A and 41,000 sqm of Class B space.
RENTS
At the end of 2009, Belgrade's new Class A office buildings commanded average achieved head rents of €13.5-13.9/sqm/month, while for Class B office space they averaged €10.0-11.1/sqm/month.
The CBD area featured an average achieved rent of €15.1/sqm/month for Class A and €13.0/sqm/month for Class B office space. In the Broad Center area, rents averaged €14.5/sqm/month for Class A and €11.0/sqm/month for Class B space, while the average achieved rents in suburban areas amounted to €10.0/sqm/month for Class A and €8.5/sqm/month for Class B.
FORECAST
The Belgrade office market will see intensive development in the foreseeable future. The total of between 100,000 sqm and 178,000 sqm of Class A and Class B is under construction in Belgrade and expected to be delivered to the market in the course of 2010.
The Belgrade office market report is based on the data provided by CB Richard Ellis and Colliers Serbia.
