The commissioning is comparable to the same quarter in 2021 (195,000 m2) and is indicative of the stoic way in which the office market is responding to the current challenging market conditions. The city of Amsterdam remains as popular as an office location, as does Rotterdam.
In the past quarter, market sentiment was mainly determined by the demand for high-quality real estate in prime locations. This is partly because companies want to profile themselves as an attractive employer. Due to a shortage on the market for this type of office buildings, future users will not wait long to decide as soon as there is a new supply. Despite the lockdown, rapidly rising inflation and mounting geopolitical tensions. Approximately 49% of the take-up was realized in the G5 and endorses the search for these locations.
Green light for the economy
According to the Central Planning Bureau, the economy will continue to grow by 3.6% in 2022 at a historically low and barely increasing unemployment. Jos Hesselink, Research Lead Netherlands at Cushman & Wakefield: “This means that organizations must continue to present themselves as an attractive employer in order to be successful in the war for talent. Although the purchasing power of the Dutch will fall sharply in 2022 due to sharply increased prices for energy and foodstuffs, the signals for the economy remain positive. This is highly dependent on the duration of the military conflict in Europe's breadbasket on the one hand and Europe's main energy supplier on the other."
Office users have learned lessons from the past two years and have adopted an office strategy that makes them more resilient to stressful situations. The take-up by sector underlines the stable development in the office market and is in line with their long-term averages.
Amsterdam remains as popular as ever
The largest transaction concluded in the first quarter of 2022 concerns the lease of 6,500 m2 by the municipality of Rotterdam in the Groot-Willemsplein office building in the center of the port city. Also in the center, but in Amsterdam, the online auction website Catawiki is renting approximately 4,000 m2 in the former V&D shop on Kalverstraat. In the immediate vicinity of financial service provider Adyen, which recently moved into use of the former Hudson's Bay building, Catawiki is further shaping the Amsterdam inner-city fintech cluster. Finally, online communication platform Trengo signed for the lease of 4,000 m2 in the recently completed Central Park building, right next to Utrecht Central Station.
