site.btaCushman & Wakefield Forton: Sofia Office Vacancy Dips to 12.9% by End-July

Sofia’s office vacancy rate continued to shrink in Q2, reaching 12.9% by the end of July 2025, commercial real estate advisory company Cushman & Wakefield Forton said on Monday. The rate hit a 3.5 year low at the start of 2025 and continues to decline.

“The decline in the share of vacant offices in Sofia applies to all subsegments, but the drop was most pronounced in the city centre. It is less felt in the wider centre, while along the main arterial roads we still see above-average vacancy,” Dimitrova said. Gross take-up in Q2 2025 totals 41,000 sq m, 11% less than at the start of the year.

“The trend is in line with feedback from office building owners, many of whom reported fewer enquiries compared with the first quarter. Traditionally, nearly two-thirds of leased space serves companies in IT, finance and professional services,” Dimitrova said.

“There is a new positive trend in the second quarter, as the list of tenant industries during the period is visibly more diverse compared with the first quarter. It already includes tenants from education, healthcare, manufacturing, the mining industry and other sectors of the economy,” Dimitrova said.

Cushman & Wakefield Forton notes a change in the composition of newly signed leases. While the share of renewals is half that of the previous quarter, the share of expansions and relocations nearly doubled. About 4/5 of all newly leased space is in the city centre and along the main arterial roads: Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd., Cherni Vrah Blvd., and Bulgaria Blvd. The remaining 1/5 is located mainly in the suburbs along Sofia’s Ring Road.

On the supply side, market dynamics remain broadly unchanged. Investors in office buildings remain cautious, partly because roughly 300,000 sq m of vacant space is on the market and also because of uncertainty stemming from changes in global trade and their impact on EU economies, Cushman & Wakefield Forton said.

The start of construction on Building A3 at Sofia Airport Center, with a gross floor area of 18,600 sq m, illustrates investor caution. The project is split into three phases so that new office space becomes available in stages. Completion is expected at the end of 2028 at the earliest.

Asking rents for Class A offices in the city centre reach EUR 20/sq m for buildings with single-digit vacancy. Rents along the main arterial roads remain unchanged, ranging between EUR 14 and EUR 18/sq m, depending on tenant preferences and local availability. Service charges also remain unchanged at EUR 3.5/sq m regardless of location. Prime office yields in Sofia decline to 7.25%.

In figures released in the second half of May, Cushman & Wakefield Forton said leasing activity in Sofia’s office market in Q1 2025 was higher than in the same period of 2024 and above the 5 year average, with 46,000 sq m of gross take-up.