According to the consultants Cushman & Wakefield, despite the fact that generally the first trimester of the year is one of the slackest as regards take up, from January to March a total of 78.000 m² was taken up,13% more compared to the first trimester of last year, with a figure of 69,000 m².
The number of transactions has also gone up, with 125 transactions in these first months of the year. The number of large transactions completed in the first trimester has been similar, six of them more than 1,500 m². In terms of similar size, this is also similar at around 700 m². This number varies considerably according to zone, in the New Areas and the Periphery, the average size is 775m² whilst in the Passeig de Gràcia Diagonal and the Centro Ciudad the size is around 490 m².
The availability of space in Barcelona continues to decrease. The global non occupancy rate is 8.71% at 2009 levels. Spaces available at A/B+ quality are also lessening, representing 40$ of available area.
As for rents, the highest are still those of the best buildings in the Passeig de Gràcia/Diagonal zone, more specifically in the CBD, where the availability of quality space (A/B+) is under 2%. The prime rent in Barcelona is 22 €/m²/month (a year’s increase of 7.5%).
In the opinion of Javier Bernades, Director of the agency Business Space Spain of Cushman & Wakefield, “The scarce supply of quality space in Barcelona is pushing up rents in the best properties. This is evident not only in properties in the Passeig de Gràcia/Diagonal zone but also in other subzones”.