Romanian office space is one of the most expensive in the world

Romania ranks 35 among the most expensive locations for offices worldwide, according to the "Office Space Across the World 2008" study made by the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. Last year rents reached 21 Euros per square meter in downtown Bucharest, up 5% from 2006. In two other big cities, Brasov and Timisoara, rents reached 15 Euros per square meter last year.

The demand for office spaces continues to exceed the offer and the non-occupancy rate in A class buildings is almost zero according to Cushman & Wakefield official, Florin Sorea. The rise in rents is almost certain to continue this year for A and B class office spaces.

The "Office Space across the World 2008" study compares costs with office spaces for 203 key locations from 58 countries. Of the 203 locations, 79% posted rent hikes over the past year, 20% have stable rents and only 1% posted drops. Overall, rent prices rose 14% globally in 2007 compared to 10% in 2006.