The third quarter of 2024 was relatively stable for the office real estate market in Bratislava. Several interesting projects are under construction, but we will have to wait for their completion. This is also reflected in the latest report from the real estate consulting company CBRE. Here are the key findings:
The total area of office space has remained at around 2.08 million square meters. Of this volume, 20% of offices are in class A+, 37% in class A, and the remaining 43% in class B. A significant positive is that approximately 41% of office spaces in the capital have green certification. The vacancy rate for offices has slightly decreased to 13.17%. The lowest vacancy rates continue to be in the city center (7.40%) and in the South Bank area (7.96%) on the Petržalka side of the Danube. In the outskirts of the city, on the other hand, there are more available offices than in the previous period (18.24%).
Total rental activity in the third quarter of 2024 reached 28,036 square meters. Compared to last year, this represents a decrease of about 30%. The take-up, which refers to total leasing excluding extensions of leases in the current premises of tenants, was only 12,125 square meters, with the largest transaction being an expansion of existing tenant spaces in the South Bank area.
"If we compare the first three quarters of this year with the same period last year, the decline in overall rental activity is negligible."
he largest share of leased space came from the renegotiation of old contracts (57%) and new leases (35%). "Within the rental activity, the most dynamic area was South Bank, with a total lease of 9,173 square meters. Among the sectors involved in the transactions, the IT sector clearly dominated, followed by the finance/banking/insurance sector," added Galata.
During the third quarter, no new office building was completed in Bratislava, and overall, only a record-low volume of new office space will be added to the Bratislava market in 2024 and 2025.
"We expect that a recovery should occur in 2026, but it will still lag behind the average of recent years. Currently, there are four projects under construction. In 2024, the first phase of the Vydrica project under Bratislava Castle by Lucron is set to be completed. Upon completion, scheduled for the end of 2024, it will bring 2,400 m2 of new office space to the market. In 2025, we anticipate the completion of the multifunctional building Dunaj, with a total leasable office area of 6,400 m2."
In 2026, the Ganz House by JTRE (9,400 m2) is expected to be added, as well as the largest planned project, Chalupkova Offices by Penta Real Estate, with a total office area of 18,200 m2. The completion of the Istropolis Atrium project by Immocap, which will bring up to 15,500 m2 of new office space, has been postponed to 2027.
Looking at office rental prices, we see a slight increase. The highest achievable rent has risen by 5.6% year-on-year and currently stands at €19/m2 per month. Average rents in the CBD area have grown more slowly, at a rate of 3.3% per year, and currently amount to €15.5/m2. Offices also maintain their profitability, with the prime yield remaining at 6%.
