The transaction volume in Istanbul Office Market narrowed in 2018, and office prices were the lowest in the last 10 years.

The supply-demand balance in the Istanbul Office Market was broken in 2018. While the office stock grew by 4% compared to the previous year, transaction volume contracted by 28%. In 2019, with the ya wait-and-see proj approach in the office market, new projects are expected to have postponement or planning changes.​

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
Google Translate Application translates the content you see on this page.***

ISTANBUL (TR) - The fourth quarter results of the prepared Istanbul Office Market Overview hazırlanan report, which was prepared every three months by Propin Real Estate Investment Consultancy for 14 years, was published. According to the report, which includes the overall evaluation of 2018; As a result of the rise of foreign exchange rates and the decree on ’Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency pazar in the purchase and sale of real estate, the conversion of rental contracts to Turkish Lira and the decrease in rental rates formed the agenda of the office market in 2018. Despite the increase in the office stock market demand decline was observed. In 2018, 258,000 m2 of leasing and corporate purchasing took place in Istanbul Office Market. The total volume of transactions in the market decreased by 28% compared to 2017. Office rents decreased by 15% to 27% in different parts of Istanbul compared to the previous year.

At the heart of Istanbul Office Market, the transaction volume shrank by 39%, below the average.

In 2018, the total number of leases and acquisitions realized in the Central Business District (CBD *), which has the most office stock in Istanbul, decreased by 39% compared to 2017, reaching 70,000 m2. Developing Office Regions at the end of 2018, shrinking 20%, 72,000 m2 of office space was recorded in the transaction took place. During 2018, the Istanbul Office Market unlike 2017, mainly in the medium and small sized office areas, leasing and corporate acquisitions took place. The transactions completed in offices ranging in size from 1,000 to 5,000 m2 were stated to be 47% of the total market volume. The size of the office areas has changed between 5,000-10,000 m2 in 30% of the transactions. The transaction volume in the office areas over 10.000 m2 decreased by 27%.

There was a significant decline in office sales.

In 2018, with the fluctuations in the economy, it was also determined that the corporate procurement transactions in the market decreased compared to the previous years. In 2017, 60,000 m2 of office space was sold, while in 2018, the total office space of 28,000m2 was decreased by 58% and purchased by the end user. This decline in office sales caused the share of sales to decline to 11% within the total transaction volume. On the other hand, the sharp decline in the demand for purchases led to a decline in new office investments.

"Office rents are at the bottom of the last 10 years."​

According to Istanbul Office Market price index, which has been calculated regularly by Propin for 14 years, the average rent rate has fallen below 2009. In 2018, Ebru Ersöz, the co-founder of Propin, stated that the discounts on the list prices were reflected in the average rents. As a result of the as Decree on Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency ’in the purchase and sale of real estate, despite the fact that the contracts are converted into Turkish Lira, the comparisons in the market continue to be made in foreign currency. In the Class A offices in the CBD, the square meter prices, which were $ 24.8 in the fourth quarter of 2017, fell by $ 3.9 to $ 20.9 at the end of 2018. The price decrease in class B office buildings was 27%, reaching $ 9.4. The average square meter price of Class A offices dropped to $ 13.2 in Out of CBD-Europe and $ 14.3 in Asia. Despite the decline in rental figures, owners still compete furiously to attract tenants.

"Inda Growth in office stock slowed down, it is imperative to take measures in 2019"

Ebru Ersöz underlined that the growth in office stock in 2018 was slower compared to previous years due to the current market conditions. The Istanbul Office Stock, with approximately 200,000 m2 of office space opened for operations, grew by approximately 4% in 2018 compared to the previous year. With this growth, the market reached 5,900,000 m2 at the end of 2018. On the other hand, due to the uneasiness in the economy in 2019, we expect to have postponement or planning changes in new projects with a proj wait-and-see ”approach to the office market.

* Business Areas Classification in Istanbul​

MIA: Central Business Area (Levent, Etiler, Maslak, Zincirlikuyu-Esentepe-Gayrettepe, Besiktas- Balmumcu)

Out of MIA-European(Taksim-Nisantası, Sisli-Fulya-Otim, Airport)

Out of MIA-Asia (Kozyatağı, Altunizade, Kavacık, Umraniye)

** Office Building Groups

Class A Office Buildings​: The best location in the market they are located in, the highest rent value, high-quality tenants with infrastructure and prestige buildings. It has modern technical and mechanical infrastructure, fire safety, generator, car park area, above average service areas and professional building management.

Class B Office Buildings: It has lower rent and sales value; If the building is new, the buildings are ordinary designs and if they are old, they are improved buildings to look better.​

About Propin Real Estate Investment Consultancy​
Propin, who specializes in danışmanlık office aracılık in commercial real estate sector, provides brokerage and consultancy services to office users, owners, investors and developers since 2005. Propin has been operating in major cities where the office market is developing, especially in Istanbul. Since 2008, Propin has been publishing the ün Istanbul Office Market Overview ler report in Turkish and English.