In St. Petersburg, since the beginning of the year, the share of vacant offices has decreased to 6.4%

In the first quarter of 2024, the office real estate market in St. Petersburg was replenished with two new class B objects with a total leasable area of ​​18.6 thousand m2 – K-37 and Lakhta Plaza. At the same time, the K-37 business center is already occupied by a monotenant: at the beginning of the year, all 14,1 thousand m2 were rented by the St. Petersburg developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, Special Technology Center.

According to estimates by analysts from the consulting company Nikoliers, the commissioning of at least five more facilities with an area of ​​75.8 thousand m2 has been announced by the end of the year. However, more than 75% of the areas announced for commissioning will not reach the open market.

“Companies rent high-quality speculative office buildings during the construction stage, so the commissioning of new buildings does not affect the vacancy level in the office market of St. Petersburg. The share of vacant offices in the city, on the contrary, continues to decline. If at the end of 2023 the share of empty space in the market as a whole was 8.4%, then by the end of the first quarter this figure dropped to 6.4%,” comments Victoria Goryacheva, deputy head of the office real estate department at Nikoliers.

The pace of construction of new business centers in St. Petersburg remains restrained, and the number of speculative properties in the total construction volume is decreasing. According to analysts, in the next two years the share of speculative space in the total volume of new supply will not exceed 45%.

“For now, developers are cautious about constructing new office centers due to economic infeasibility. However, developers can be stimulated by a significant increase in rental rates, which we are already seeing due to the shortage of quality office space,” explains Victoria Goryacheva.

According to the Nikoliers research department, since the end of 2023, the rate in high-quality business centers of class A has increased by 8% to 1,873 rubles / sq. m. m/month, and in class B – by 1% to 1,240 rubles/sq. m/month. At the same time, the release of even small blocks at rates lower or higher than the market leads to noticeable dynamics in the average value. For example, for some of the highest quality premises the rate can reach 3,500 rubles/sq.m. m/month.

There is a growing shortage of quality office blocks in St. Petersburg, especially in key business districts. The launch of new projects has not been announced in 2024, and since the development cycle lasts on average from two to four years, the deficit will continue in the medium term.