2022 will be even more challenging for the Greater Porto office market

The OnOffice report prepared by Predibisa looks back to the last three years of the Porto office market and concludes that although in 2019 the area placement was higher, in the last two years, even with the pandemic constraints, the placement volume was very similar in 2020 and 2021.

2021 proved to be a surprising year, recording a very undynamic first quarter, but with a progressive growth with an evolution in demand, placement and expansion of companies, which was reflected in a placed area of 56, 585 sqm at the end of the year. The main players responsible for the highest occupation rates are companies linked to the "Other Services" sector with 28%, followed by "Pharmaceutical and Health" with 23%, "Business Services" with 20% and "TMT's & Utilities" with 14%. The remaining 15% are split between "Financial Services", "Consulting and Legal", "Construction and Real Estate", and "Consumer Products". 

Throughout 2021, the main factor that led organizations to look for new office space in Greater Porto was essentially related to the need for expansion of the area, translating into 46% of the area absorbed (25,778 m²) and thirteen operations carried out. This was followed by the process of moving premises with 29% (16,622 m²) and thirty operations, and finally, the attraction of new players to the region, with 25% of the area absorbed (14,185 m²) and twenty operations carried out.

According to the report from real estate consulting firm Predibisa, "With the existing pipeline in terms of demand that has been working over the last half of 2021 and the control of the pandemic, our outlook is that 2022 will be a year of growth for the sector".