Aguirre Newman: Office Inv’t Reached €215M In Q1 2016

20 May 2016 – Mis Oficinas

During the first quarter of 2016, investment in the office market amounted to €215 million, according to the Monitor Report for the Office Market in Madrid and Barcelona Q1 2016, compiled by the consultancy firm Aguirre Newman. The number of operations totalled 252 during the first three months of the year.

According to the report, 130,693 m2 of surface area was leased in Madrid, which represented a decrease of 8% with respect to Q1 2015. The total number of operations increased to 144 compared with 111 during the same period in 2015, which is indicative of more buoyant demand in the small and medium-company segment.

The most active geographical areas during the first quarter of the year were the Decentralised Area (DEC), which accounted for 40% of the total surface area leased; the Rest of the Business District (RDN) and the area Outside of the city (OUT), which accounted for 20% of the space leased, respectively.

In terms of rental prices, the maximum rent amounted to €33/sqm/month, whilst the average rent in the Business Centre stood at €26.62/sqm/month and the average rent in the DEC was €11.73/sqm/month.

In Barcelona, 73,757 sqm of space was leased during the first quarter of 2016, which represents almost the same surface area as in Q1 2015. The total number of operations, 108, was also in line with the same period last year.

Analysing the absorption by area, Aguirre Newman’s report indicates that the most significant movement was the strong uptake in the RC area (Rest of the City), which accounted for 40% of the total absorption. All of the office sub-markets situated in the centre of the city have seen increases in the absorption levels with respect to the previous quarter, and the overall growth in leasing in this market was 67%.

In terms of prices, there have been slight increases compared to the previous quarter, especially in terms of average prices, but not so much in terms of maximum prices. These increases have been generalised and very homogeneous by business area.

Original story: Mis Oficinas

Translation: Carmel Drake