Vilnius, 30 November 2017 – 2017 is set to be one of the most active in the last ten years for the Lithuanian office market according to many parameters. It is anticipated that by the end of 2017 total office stock in Vilnius should increase by 14 new office premises or 89,400 sq m of new floor space. This figure could have been even higher were it not for the delayed openings of some projects. In 2018, the pace of new supply will slow, yet remain strong by Vilnius’ standards with 5 upcoming projects totalling approximately 40,600 sq m of new floor space. More than half of the new space is going to be A class office premises. The office space in Kaunas is planned to almost double in the next two years from the current 87,600 sq m to 183,900 sq m. At least 65,200 sq m of these new developments are going to be A class offices.
“The stocks of A class offices are expanding slightly more when compared to B class offices, which is welcoming, as currently there is a lack of sufficient available prime office space to meet the needs of the potential occupiers. A further low vacancy level for A class offices in Vilnius could damage investment, as companies consider other locations for quick expansion. The situation in Kaunas is even worse because the city is almost devoid of prime offices. Luckily, the situation in the second largest Lithuanian city is set to change. The first significant A class office projects are to be completed early next year. However, the Kaunas office market is much smaller when compared to Vilnius and its rapid expansion makes it relatively volatile,” Ignas Goštautas, Market Analyst of Lithuania Research and Consultancy at CBRE Baltics comments.
The demand for office space in Vilnius remains high. This year office take-up amounted to more than 68,100 sq m. The majority of office take-up was for the yet to be built offices.
Denis Rein, Senior Consultant of Lithuania Advisory & Transaction Services at CBRE Baltics comments: “The expansion of existing foreign-owned Shared Service Centers and IT companies has been leading the demand growth in both cities. Furthermore, some local companies have moved to newer premises or have been consolidating their scattered employees under a single roof. Additionally, economic growth and a positive outlook have stimulated the hiring process and the numbers of private sector employees in IT, finance, real estate and administrative activities, which are the main office occupiers, went up”.
Rent prices have remained unchanged in the Vilnius office market for over a year now. A class rent rates are currently between 14.0 – 16.5 EUR/sq m/month with 9.0 – 13.5 EUR/sq m/month for Class B office premises. A high level of demand was in line with high supply, which led to a stable vacancy rate of around 5% in Vilnius. In Kaunas, the rent prices vary from 11.0 to 14.5 EUR for A class offices and from 7.0 to 11.0 EUR for B class office premises. The vacancy rate is marginally higher, yet still at a low level of around 7.75%.
“Overall, a few vacancies have helped to keep rent prices at the current level. Yet, the presence of well-known international and local companies is highly appreciated by office developers, consequently the actual rental rates in pre-lease agreements are usually lower. The market is observing increasing new office supply, which creates a downward pressure on the level of asking rents, especially for lower quality offices. The temporary lack of prime offices has been somewhat substituted by available space in Class B projects. However, once prime office facilities become more available, the market should expect some tenant movement in order to upgrade their current office premises,” Ignas Goštautas comments.
About CBRE Baltics
CPB Real Estate Services is part of the CBRE affiliate network in the Baltics. CBRE is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2016 revenue).
The company has more than 75,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide.
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CONTACTS:
Ignas Goštautas | Senior Analyst
Lithuania | Research & Consulting
M +370 694 88318
ignas.gostautas@cbre.lt
Vineta Vigupe | Director
CBRE Baltics | Research & Consulting
M +371 291 62408
vineta.vigupe@cbre.lv