Developers invest a further 300m euros in 21 office buildings in Bucharest, despite hectares of vacant spaces

Another 21 office buildings were finalised in Bucharest in the first half of this year, in the wake of investments put at 300m euros, though almost 20% of offices built in Bucharest are empty and rents have dropped by 5% to 15% since the start of the year alone, reveals a survey by The Advisers Knight Frank real estate consultancy, sent to ZF.

The 21 finished buildings, including Euro Tower or Lakeview in Barbu Văcărescu street, have a 155,000 square metre lettable area, showing that developers have started building smaller projects to reduce risks.

"Over 90% of spaces were delivered in central and semi-central areas, with only 7% of office spaces developed at city outskirts. Given that in 2009 around 45% of projects were at the outskirts, developers have changed their behaviour, focusing on central and semi-central areas," according to Advisers Knight Frank consultants.

On the other hand, a series of the projects finalised in the first half had been started in 2008.

Nevertheless, the surface area of office space available in Bucharest has hit new records, of around 300,000 square metres, considering the vacancy rate has remained flat from 2009, at 19-20%.