The volume of office take-up in Moscow for Q3 was 305,000 m², or an increase of 10% QoQ, according to JLL analysts. The volatile ruble at the end of Q2 was the main driver for the rebound in occupier activity in Q3. The first nine months saw a 3% drop in office take-up at approx. 800,000 m².
Elizaveta Golysheva, National Director, Deputy Head of Office Agency, JLL, Russia & CIS commented: “Several large transactions for new space such as 20,000 m² leased by adidas Group in Krylatsky Hills BP had a notable positive impact on the volume of transacted office space over the past nine months though demand for office space in Moscow is still under pressure due to a challenging macro environment.
“In case occupier activity remains high through the remainder of the year, the actual amount of demand for the entire 2015 will likely beat our initial forecast of 0.95 m² and ought to be close to the levels seen in 2014 (1.1 m²). Nonetheless, we wouldn’t exclude that the second wave of ruble devaluation seen over Q3 as well as persistent inflationary pressure will likely affect the markets going forward.”
At the same time, the supply of office space is gradually decreasing. New office space in Q3 2015 amounted to half (241,000 m²) of what entered the market over the same period last year, 54% of which were Class A. The largest Class A projects delivered over Q3 were Oruzheyny MFC (100,000 m² – office area) and Kuntsevo Plaza (29,092 m²).
Source: JLL
