The demand for commercial space dropped significantly during the pandemic, as most companies were forced to resort to remote work.
After two years of stagnation, this part of the real estate market is slowly coming back and according to experts, demand is growing and companies are ‘moving’ their offices and operations to larger cities in Serbia due to unstable geopolitical circumstances.
In the first half of 2022, 1,765 sales of business premises were recorded in Serbia, and the turnover increased by 9 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the latest data from the State Geodetic Institute (RGZ). Based on the analysis of prices and the size of business premises, in the first half of this year, prices in Serbia ranged from EUR 50 per square metre in the Pomoravski district to EUR 12,240, which is the cost of one square metre of business premises in Belgrade.
“During the pandemic, demand dropped dramatically and even after the pandemic subsided somewhat, many people continued working from home, so the demand was not that strong. Recently, regardless of the influence that events in Ukraine have had on the real estate market, there has been a strong demand, especially for A-category commercial premises, such as the Ušće Tower, the West 65 tower, Airport City and others that meet the highest possible standards,’ says the executive director of the real estate agency City Expert, Miloš Mitić.
Mitić also points out that due to the current circumstances caused by the conflict in Ukraine, many companies are relocating their operations to the big cities in Serbia.
“It is clear that many Moscow-based companies are moving mainly to Belgrade, but also to other cities such as Novi Sad and Niš. These large companies are looking for large commercial premises and affect the flow of supply and demand, both in terms of apartments and business premises. Such companies also have a substantial number of employees who also need accommodation, so this too affects demand,” Mitić adds.
“In the case of rentals, and depending on the location, the lease of commercial space ranges from 7 to 8 euro per square metre and it goes up to 15 euro. If we are talking about commercial premises of category A, the rent ranges from 20 to 25 euro, and goes up to 40 euro per square metre. Regarding buying, prices are different, depending on the space itself and the location, so they range from around 2,000 to 2,500 euro to 10,000-15,000 euro per square metre. For example, commercial premises in the Belgrade Waterfront and in the Belgrade Tower range from 3,500 to 4,500 euros per square metre, and the prices are similar in the West 65 Tower”, Mitić concludes.
(Biznis.rs, 16.09.2022)
https://biznis.rs/novac/sve-veci-broj-ruskih-firmi-u-srbiji-utice-na-cene-poslovnih-prostora/