The office space market in Bucharest is showing signs of a gradual recovery, and the vacancy rate has dropped significantly to an average level of almost 11.2%, which creates a sustainable space for new projects, according to a specialized analysis.
The office space market in Bucharest is stabilizing: falling vacancy rates are making way for new office buildings that will deliver 181,000 square meters in 2026 and 2027. After more than 5 years of resilience and adjustment to the effects of hybrid work and the impact of new technologies (AI), the office space market in Bucharest is showing signs of gradual recovery. The vacancy rate has dropped significantly to an average level of around 11.2%, creating sustainable space for new projects to emerge, and for rents to adjust to the new realities of higher construction costs and bank interest rates
says the analysis by ESOP l CORFAC International.
After several years during which companies reduced areas or postponed relocation decisions, the surplus stock resulting from the pandemic and due to the switch to hybrid working models has largely been absorbed.
The limited supply of new space in recent years has helped to reduce vacancies and stabilize the market.
„We are already talking about vacancy levels of 5-7% in CBD areas (Victoriei Square - Aviatorilor - Charles de Gaulle) and in well-positioned Class A office buildings, which is significantly below the market average and further evidence of the increased interest of companies for high quality space”, says Alexandru Petrescu, Managing Partner ESOP | CORFAC International, quoted by Agerpres.
The year 2025 marked an all-time low, the first year in the last two decades in which no Class A office projects were delivered, after a record low in 2024. The year 2026 comes, however, with more than 63,000 square meters in three new projects, but with less than half of the available space available for lease at the start of the year.
Last year, the total volume transacted reached 243,000 sq m, with (pre-)lettings and expansions driving the market, generating more than half of the activity. Even if transaction volumes are below last year's level by around 29%, there are premises for a boost in transactions over the next 12-24 months, on the back of the resumption of deliveries of new office projects.
(Pre-)lettings and expansions were the dominant component of the Bucharest office market, with 132,000 sqm (54%), while renewals and renegotiations totaled 111,000 sqm (46%).
„This distribution shows that firms are not only holding on to their space, but are continuing to make decisions to grow or optimize, in better performing buildings and in locations well connected to the metro and RATB”the analysis reveals.
The most attractive area remained the Center-North, with 53.6% of newly leased space, followed by Center-West, with 23%.
On the back of higher construction costs and more expensive financing, rents for new projects to be delivered in 2026 - 2027 are above the levels of a few years ago, ranging between 19-23 euro/sq.m for class A buildings.
In parallel, quality existing buildings have also benefited from adjustments in rents, with average rents now averaging between 16-18 euro/sq.m. for centrally and ultra-centrally located buildings. The sharpest increases have been in the CBD and in Class A projects with low vacancy rates.
„The resumption of deliveries of new projects, estimated at over 210,000 sqm in 2026-2028, sets the stage for a boost in trading activity over the next 2 years. We remain, however, in a context in which companies' decisions are more cautious and the pace of transactions will continue to depend on the evolution of the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment and the degree of confidence in the Romanian economy”says Alexandru Petrescu.