SOFIA OFFICE MARKET 2024: STATS & TRENDS


According to the latest report by Avison Young Bulgaria

Avison Young Bulgaria 2024 H1 report economic highlights.jpg

Office market highlights for the first half of 2024

  • The actively trading inventory of completed class A&B office space tracked by Avison Young Bulgaria is 2.02 million sq.m.
  • During the first half of 2024, the vacancy rate was 13.7%.
  • The stabilization and slight reduction in vacancy rate can be attributed to the limited introduction of new office buildings.
  • Only 7,863 sq.m new office stock were delivered to market. This limited supply is primarily due to the non-completion of several planned projects within the period.
  • The total office space transacted in the first half of 2024 amounted to 87,997 sq.m, comprising 48,762 sq.m from new leases and 39,235 sq.m from lease prolongations. This marks a decrease in transactions compared to both the first and second halves of 2023.
  • Asking rental levels for Class A office space are mostly in the range of € 12-17 per sq. m per month, reflecting an increase of approximately €1 per sq. m per month compared to the second half of 2023.

Leasing

The office market experienced a decline in leasing activity due to increased caution from companies. This slowdown follows the initial post-COVID surge, as businesses rapidly adapted to new hybrid work models. As the market stabilizes, companies are now making more deliberate leasing decisions in response to long-term trends. Some of the biggest transactions involved companies taking space from tenants looking to reduce office space. Additionally, there is a growing interest in flexible and sustainable office solutions reflecting broader changes in work environments.

Vacancy

The direct vacancy rate held steady at 13.7% in the first half of 2024, showing some stabilization due to limited new office space supply. There is a significant reduction of the vacant space in the central areas of the city, although the total transacted square meters were relatively small in absolute terms compared to the entire Sofia market. Looking ahead, the anticipated increase in new office space supply in 2025 is expected to alter market dynamics, potentially impacting vacancy rates and leading to the repositioning of some tenants into new developments.

Rents

The average asking rent has seen an increase of approximately €1 per sq. m compared to the second half of 2023. This adjustment reflects a market in transition from previous instability, with gradual changes in rental levels influenced by the limited new supply and stabilized vacancy rates. Broader economic conditions and general price trends also play a role. Additionally, the shift towards flexible and hybrid work models has led companies to be more conservative with long-term leases and rental commitments, influencing landlords to adopt more restrained pricing strategies.

Service Charge

Service charges have seen a slight increase but for most projects remain within the same range as the previous period. This incremental rise reflects adjustments in operating and maintenance costs, due to general inflation and increase of monthly wages. In some high-end projects, service charges can exceed €3.5 or €4 per square meter per month.

Get more market information

Anton Slavtchev

Principal & Managing Director

+359 (0) 886 906 555

anton.slavtchev@avisonyoung.com

avisonyoung.bg

  • COMMENTING RULES

    Commenting on www.vagabond.bg

    Vagabond Media Ltd requires you to submit a valid email to comment on www.vagabond.bg to secure that you are not a bot or a spammer. Learn more on how the company manages your personal information on our Privacy Policy. By filling the comment form you declare that you will not use www.vagabond.bg for the purpose of violating the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. When commenting on www.vagabond.bg please observe some simple rules. You must avoid sexually explicit language and racist, vulgar, religiously intolerant or obscene comments aiming to insult Vagabond Media Ltd, other companies, countries, nationalities, confessions or authors of postings and/or other comments. Do not post spam. Write in English. Unsolicited commercial messages, obscene postings and personal attacks will be removed without notice. The comments will be moderated and may take some time to appear on www.vagabond.bg.

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

Discover More

SYNERGY DESIGN
When an interior designer has successfully worked for years for diverse, but demanding clients, their portfolio of finished projects becomes a sort of time capsule – each of them has captured a stage in their creative evolution, marks key and turning moment

ZOGRAFOV & SON: ELEGANT, IMPRESSIVE, EXCEPTIONAL GIFTS
A valuable art piece, a symbol of high social status and prestige, a way to take care of our health, or a strategic investment? The emblematic items crafted by Zografov & Son are all of these.

ANGLO-AMERICAN SCHOOL OF SOFIA: THE INTERNATIONAL CHOICE
Currently the school has almost 600 students, aged 4 to 19, from over 50 countries and offers a multi-sourced curriculum, based on American, British, and international educational best practices.

MONTERRA: SUPERIOR EXPERIENCE
The elegant Monterra building is located at the intersection of three streets, near a future metro station. This location ensures that the building has no "back" facade, guaranteeing a cohesive design from all sides.

MOVE ARCHITECTS
The debate about the future of offices is going on, but when they are designed by MoVe Architects, disagreement stops. Innovative, functional, comfortable, and outstanding, these spaces inspire employees to outperform themselves.

MURITE PARK HOTEL: YOUR BLISSFUL ESCAPE AT THE FOOT OF THE PIRIN
Murite Park Hotel in an exquisite retreat far from the daily grind· Choose your stay in a luxury room, apartment, or house· Fine dining in three restaurants and an enoteca· Night bar and pool bar

DENEF LTD: EXCEPTIONAL ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN
It is a distinctive blend of love for brave geometrical solutions, the boldness to experiment with spaces, materials and the project's environment, and unwavering striving towards functionality. 

NEYCHEV.BG: EVERYTHING ABOUT PROPERTIES, FROM A TO Z
Bulgaria's real estate market is upsurging - each day thousands of buyers, sellers, investors, and tenants seek the best deal for them.

AESTHAVIST CLINIC: WHERE PRECISION AND PROFESSIONALISM CREATE PERFECTION
With the latest technologies and individual approach we achieve exceptional results.

WALDORF SCHOOL PROFESSOR NIKOLAY RAYNOV
The harmonic connection between children's intellectual, emotional, and physical development is one of the cornerstones of Waldorf education.

THERMAL EXCELLENCE BY ALEKSIS LTD
With its latest update, THERMION 2 LRF XL50 HD Thermal Imaging Riflescope reveals astonishing capabilities to take your hunting experience to a new level.• .375H&H ready• 10 shooting profiles / 100 zeroing distances

ST. GEORGE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AND PRESCHOOL
St. George International School and Preschool is the largest international school in Bulgaria, offering a complete educational cycle to nearly 700 children and students aged 2 to 18, supported by 190 teachers and administrative staff. St.