What about the office market ?

The impact of the corona-crisis on the office market

The current crisis raises many questions, not in the least with companies renting space in one of the many office buildings in Brussels. Looking for answers, we called up every tenant (+/- 100 companies) who found a new location thanks to the mediation of Structura.biz office agency in the past 5 years . We narrowed it down to five large conclusions.

1. Home work is here to stay

Over the past years, many companies raised the question to which level they would allow their employees to work from home. Corona has provided them with answers since every company has been obliged to encourage home working. As a consequence, The companies we called will increase the number of days home working will be allowed after the crisis, leading to less people on the work floor.

2. The office will look different in the future

With probably less people in the office and the obligation to respect social distancing rules for the next months (years?), it may come as no surprise that offices will be fitted out differently in the post-corona era. However, it is to soon to tell how it will impact the work space exactly. Although many tenants expect to increase the number of sqm per employee, none stated that they would need to increase the total amount of office space they would need in the near future. To a certain amount, the need for extra space will be compensated by the increase of people working from home.

3. The corona-crisis knows no level playing field

As with every crisis, each sector and each organization is hit in a different way. When we asked our clients how they looked at the future, answers varied between “optimistic and focused on growth” to “uncertain and fearing the continuity of their business”. Undoubtedly, this will have an impact on the number of employees and as a consequence on the number of sqm needed in the office market. We already received some demands from companies to look for a larger or smaller office space as soon as their next break arrives. 

4. Tenants pay their rent

From all the companies we called, none asked for a reduction or remission of their rent. Some asked for a reduction in the property charges they need to pay. However, as buildings are empty, maintenance costs will decrease automatically (less heating, less electricity use, less cleaning needed,…). This doesn’t mean that companies are not concerned with the rent they pay. Multiple tenants contacted us with the question to reassess their rental contract and make sure their rental costs are still in line with the market.  

5. Many questions remain

In uncertain times, many questions remain unanswered for tenants. When will be able to return to the office? How do we respect social distancing in the work space? How do we handle common area’s in office buildings? Questions for which there are no answers yet. But with new information coming to us every day, we move step by step to a new balance on the office market.

Any questions regarding your real estate situation? Don’t hesitate to contact one of our consultants off the Structura.biz office team!

T: 02 462 32 00
E: office@structura.biz