Natalia Muscatelli
08/05/2021 9:50 AM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 08/05/2021 9:50 AM
Behind the disquisitions about whether post-pandemic work should be face-to-face, virtual or hybrid, the office real estate market continues to decline.
During the second quarter of this year,
the vacancy or available places increased from 7.7% registered a year ago to 8.9%
according to the report by the specialized company Cushman & Wakefield.
That average of 8.9% includes
9.4% that shows the downtown area
and 7.5% of the non-central area, with regard to class B offices, which are those corporate spaces of more than 150 square meters (m2), of medium quality, older or in locations that are not considered as premium as class A offices.
According to this survey, the areas that continue to be occupied
mostly by SMEs
and have the lowest vacancies are the Dardo Rocha corridor, Libertador in the City of Buenos Aires and Retiro-Plaza San Martín, which have less than 5,000 m2 available each.
On the contrary, the submarkets
with the largest available surface are Microcentro
, with approximately 27,000 m2
, Puerto Madero
(25,000 m2)
and Catalinas-Plaza Roma,
with a little more than 20,000 m2.
Lucas Desalvo, Research Manager at Cushman & Wakefield, believes that "in general terms, in the Buenos Aires office market, if the vacancy does not exceed 10% it means that it maintains healthy indicators", he says.
"However, in the rental contracts of the
class B office segment, mostly occupied by SMEs or professionals,
there are usually agreements between private parties that could modify the current vacancy levels and that will become evident once the conditions for opening and returning to work spaces ”, explained the manager.
Regarding
the average rental price requested,
Juan Querol, broker for the same corporate services company, explained that "in this last quarter
the downward curve that began more than a year ago continued and fell to US $ 17.5 per month per month. square meter "
.
In the non-central area, this average is higher, with US $ 20.1, and lower in the central area, with US $ 16.9.
At the top was the Retiro-Plaza San Martín submarket, with US $ 22.2, displacing Libertador GBA, which had held that position since 2019. On the contrary, the lowest price is that of Centro Sur, with US $ 12.9 explains the consultant.
The increase in vacancies affects the market in general as many companies rescinded the lease of their offices to move to
a 100% remote model.
But there is also a trend that has to do with
the occupation of smaller spaces,
especially by SMEs or companies that are opting for hybrid work models, that is, combining the face-to-face form and the home office.
Based on this scenario, the real estate business linked to the offices will
have to be "reset"
once the pandemic passes, say Nómada Workspaces, a corporate interior design company.
"People will continue to work from their homes and others will return to their workplace. There will also be those who prefer a mixture of both. For this to work, the company culture and
the workspace needs to provide safety, comfort and balance. between work and personal life
and being prepared for this new way of working in an organic and frictionless way, ”said Santiago Peña Fiorda, director of that firm.
NE
Look also
Real estate prices go down: has the apartment been reached yet?
Offices vs.
apartments: which real estate investment is more profitable
Commercial premises and offices: discounts of up to 50% on rents are being negotiated
