Experts named the reasons for the sharp increase in the cost of renting office real estate

The surge in prices for commercial real estate, primarily for its rental, is due not so much to high demand as to an increase in cost. Sergey Kanaev, director of the Commercial Real Estate Department at Sezar Group, told Izvestia on January 29.

Don't build houses: developers massively reduce the launch of new residential projects in megacities

What are the reasons and can this lead to a shortage of apartments in some segments?

"All components of operating expenses — from cleaning and security to fire safety and maintenance of engineering systems — are becoming more expensive. Expensive loans are added to this: most of the facilities were built with borrowed funds, and the owners are forced to include the cost of debt servicing in the rent," he said.

Another of the main reasons is the acute shortage of high—quality space in prestigious locations, says Yulia Petrochenko, Director of Commercial Real Estate at Summa Elements Group of Companies.

"But the situation differs dramatically depending on the class and location of the office: if the vacancy in class A offices is close to the historical minimum (less than 4%), then in class B offices beyond the TTK and beyond the MKAD the vacancy is noticeable (in the region of 10-17%), the supply is growing," she said.

Large business and the public sector remain the main tenants of high-quality offices. For them, the key limiting factor is not the budget, but the lack of suitable large blocks on the market in the required prestigious locations. Small and medium-sized businesses are forced to make a strategic choice between saving on location, using coworking spaces and paying for high comfort in scarce offices in central districts.

At the same time, the commissioning of new projects is decreasing against the background of a decrease in the availability of credit and an increase in construction costs, the Tekta Group added. A significant part of the transactions in the office market are implemented under contracts for the purchase and sale of future items. If the deadlines for completion are rigidly fixed in equity participation agreements (DDS), then the DCPS format allows developers to adjust the commissioning of facilities depending on market conditions and their own financial capabilities.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Square footage: office rental costs increased by 40% in a year