Rotterdam is one of Europe’s busiest cities and it has an office space rental market that reflects this. The port of Rotterdam, which is located in the city, attracts businesses of all shapes and sizes to the area. Since these businesses require office space from which to operate, the average office space vacancy rate in the city centre of Rotterdam usually hovers around 15%.
This high demand coupled with low availability has driven the rent prices in the Rotterdam area up to one of the highest in all of Europe. That said, it is important to note that not all areas of Rotterdam have similar vacancy rates; the city centre has the lowest vacancy rate at 15% but some areas outside the city centre have been experiencing steady increases in availability.
2014 to 2019
Rotterdam has seen an overall steady decrease in vacancy rates since 2014 when they peaked at 49%. In the past five years, the vacancy rate has more than halved thanks to investments in new property developments, refurbishment projects and a generally improved economic outlook. While the availability rate in Rotterdam is low and decreasing, it is still much higher than that of other Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and The Hague.
In general, it is easier to find smaller office spaces that are suitable for micro and medium enterprises than it is to find spaces suitable for large corporates. This is especially true when referring to the Rotterdam city centre.
2020 and beyond
It is clear that the city of Rotterdam that more office space is urgently required in the area and as a result, investors are poised to develop more office spaces. This creates a positive outlook for the Rotterdam area and predicts a welcome relief for stabilisation of the rent prices in the area. There are also several interesting and eye-catching architectural projects planned, such as floating office space located in the port of Rotterdam.
In conclusion
As is the case with most prominent European cities, Rotterdam suffers from a lack of rentable office space. This can make it very difficult to find a space that matches a company’s needs and budget. That said, plans are underway to develop new office spaces in the Rotterdam area that will ensure that the Dutch port city remains a lucrative place to set up shop.
