Most European markets saw an increase in the amount of office space leased in 2015 and expect this trend to continue in 2016, rising up to 10% more this year. This data reflects the fact that the number of operations closed is up more than 20% year on year.

This improvement in the market is encouraging developers to build new office spaces. New construction projects will be characterized by the current polarization of demand, focusing on class A buildings in prime areas of European capitals.

Promoting offices in the CBD (Central Business District): taking into account the scarcity of prime space available in the CBD of cities like London, Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt, Madrid and Barcelona, we’ll see that users looking for large, centrally located offices are finding very limited offerings right now.

Re-development of secondary offering: Cities like Amsterdam and Brussels, especially in the case of class B offices and secondary locations, still have relatively high vacancy rates. More value could be obtained by re-developing these properties for new uses (residential or specialized sectors).

"Hot spots” with greater rise in rent: Rent on prime office space is still below average in markets like Spain and France. Demand is expected to increase, with the corresponding drop in vacancy rates, favoring rising rents in several European markets in 2016. This would then drive decision-making regarding investment.

Sectors like healthcare, automotive and student residence halls are gaining steam in European markets, as they offer higher profit margins than traditional sectors.

The absorption rate for offices was up 27% from the previous year, to 490,000 m². This is the highest figure since the beginning of the recession in 2007. The most optimistic forecasts estimated it would be 420,000 m² by the close of 2015, however the figure was 17% higher than expected.

This shows the positive behaviour of the market over the past months, which in turn was in response to a good macroeconomic outlook.