Close to 80% of the office stock is at risk of obsolescence in markets such as Amsterdam, Paris and London, while in CEE-based capital cities this figure stands at an average of 43%, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
In total, over 170 million sqm of office spaces are at risk of becoming obsolete in 2030 across 16 European markets.
According to the report, the office stock in Eastern European markets has more than doubled, while in Western Europe most markets have seen the stock grow by less than 20% in the past 20 years.
Compared with the regional average, Bucharest’s office stock is even younger, with nearly half of the existing 3.41 million sqm of office spaces being built during the last decade. This reduces the city’s equivalent obsolescence risk to just 35%.
“Across Europe, grade A leasing accounts for around 50% of the total take-up, up from 40% before the pandemic and from around 33% over a decade ago. In Bucharest, 83% of the YTD transaction volume occurred in grade A buildings, which account for 79% of the total stock in the city,” says Madalina Cojocaru, Partner Office Agency at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Going forward, the agency forecasts a growing divide between best-in-class, centrally located assets and those in peripheral locations, where the vacancy risk is often greater.
