Barcelona closes the year at 298,000 sqm, representing a +19% increase compared to 2023, and expects to receive 162,000 sqm of new office space before December 2025.
The office market in Spain closes the year 2024 with a positive balance, according to data from the consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield Madrid exceeds initial forecasts for 2024, surpassing the 500,000 sqm mark and closing the year around 550,000 sqm, which is 21% above 2023, despite the last quarter of the year closing with 110,000 sqm.
By zones, office leasing has been broadly distributed throughout the city, but the center of Madrid, or CBD area, stands out, concentrating 27% of the surface. The decentralized area registers a slight reactivation in the second half of the year. According to Javier Bernades, director of offices at Cushman & Wakefield in Spain, "the search for quality continues to stand out in the Madrid office market as a clear upward trend, having accounted for 65% of the total leased surface for the year." According to Bernades, "this trend will continue in the coming years and, given the gradual reduction in space availability, may pressure rents upward."
In this regard, the availability rate has been reduced again in the last quarter of the year in Madrid and is now below 9%, highlighting the scarce availability in the city center around 3%. Prime rents in Madrid's CBD have maintained an upward trend throughout the year, standing at 42 €/sqm/month, representing an annual increase of 7.7%. By sectors, the financial or legal sectors stood out in 2024, leading the largest volume operations, and new sectors such as learning or services have also had an important presence.
Regarding the city of Barcelona, office leasing in the last quarter of 2024 stood at 58,000 sqm, spread over 78 operations, representing an increase of +5% compared to the average of the last 5 years. Barcelona closes the year at 298,000 sqm (+19% vs 2023), and in the number of operations, Barcelona reaches 319, in line with the average of 300 over the last 5 years and represents a slight increase of +3% compared to 2023. By zones, the New Business Areas (including the 22@ district) concentrate 42% of the leasing in terms of surface, followed by the City Center with 35%. In terms of the number of operations, the New Business Areas concentrate 35% and closely follow the City Center with 33%.
According to Javier Bernades, "one of the most important decision factors in Barcelona, as in Madrid, has continued to be quality, with 70% of the leased surface being recorded in buildings classified as A/B+."
In terms of sectors, in Barcelona, the technology sector continues to stand out, concentrating 20% of the total space. Companies in the professional services sector follow with 16%, and service companies with 14%. During this last quarter, the availability rate has been reduced, going from 10.29% to the current 9.16%. In this regard, Barcelona expects to receive 162,000 sqm of new office space before December 2025, with 31% of the surface already having an end user. The 22@ district will feature 37% of deliveries.
Regarding prime rents, the polarization due to the scarce available quality space in PG/Diagonal continues to pressure rents upward to 30 €/m²/month by the end of 2024.
