CBRE: “Office space rentals in Amsterdam and Utrecht reach all-time high in 2018”

The rental of office space in both Amsterdam and Utrecht will reach a new record high this year. In Amsterdam, the highest number of square metres has been leased since the crisis in 2008, and in Utrecht since 2005. This is what real estate advisor CBRE is expecting based on the Q3 2018 figures and the upcoming transactions scheduled for Q4. The increase is a direct result of the growing economy and rising employment.

Over the past nine months, companies in the media and technology sector and business services sector have been very active in the rental market. Several major leases were also signed in Amsterdam by organisations in the financial sector, including DNB and APG.

Record number in Amsterdam in spite of shortage

In Amsterdam, during the first three quarters of 2018, 279,000 sq. m. of office space was leased. This is 26% more than in the same period last year. CBRE believes the total number of rented square metres will be around 375,000. The expected record take-up is striking, particularly in light of the fact that available office space in the city is very limited.

"The expected take-up record is due to the high throughput in the rental of office space, in which contracts are signed long before handover. Examples are APG, which will move into a redeveloped office building in Sloterdijk in 2021, and De Nederlandse Bank, which is temporarily moving to the Toorop building in 2020,” says Bart van Eerd, CBRE’s Director of A&T Amsterdam.

Utrecht rentals at highest level since 2005

The rental of Utrecht offices shows a record-breaking high not reached since 2005. In the period of January through September 2018, 62% more office space was leased than in the same period in 2017. The total take-up in Utrecht this year will be 180,000 sq. m., expects CBRE.

"In Utrecht, many new leases are being signed this year for new buildings, especially in the Central Business District surrounding Central Station. The rentals at WTC Utrecht and Creative Valley CS illustrate the popularity of the area. Newcomers are usually companies from outside Utrecht,” explains Siebe de Boo, Director of CBRE’s Utrecht Office.

Also growth of office take-up in the southern Randstad area

The rental of office space in the other G4 cities also shows a strong increase. The increase in Rotterdam in the first nine months of this year is particularly striking: 102% compared to the same period in 2017. Rotterdam shows the strongest growth of all cities in the Randstad conurbation in Q3. In The Hague, 28% more was let in the first three quarters of 2018 than in the same period in 2017. According to CBRE, a grand total of 110,000 square metres will be rented this year. The absence of a record high since the economic crisis is due to the fact that the Central Government Real Estate Agency has been less active in the market in The Hague. The expected 110,000 square meters is therefore a solid performance for this market.