International real estate company "Colliers International", in the report for 2022, predicts an increase in the stock of vacant office spaces, with an area of 120 thousand square meters from the completion of 6 luxury towers in Tirana and the development of the New Boulevard. 

Increase in supply, according to Collires, will necessarily increase the pressure to reduce prices. But sales agents claim that the implementation of money laundering schemes by tower builders is affecting high prices and their overall decline. 

According to real estate agencies, rent prices for offices in Tirana are the most expensive in the region. In the lake area, prices are the same as in Milan. But what are the current prices and what are the projects that will increase the supply of offices in Tirana? 
 
A business that will rent an office near the Lake will have to pay the same as if it took a space in Milan. 

Stela Dhami, managing partner for Albania and Kosovo at "Colliers International", claims that in the new constructions in the Artificial Lake area, office rent prices are as high as in Milan, at around 34 euros/m2/month. 

Office rent prices in Tirana continue to remain the highest in the region, according to Dham. 

Although the increase in construction increases supply and should theoretically lower office rents, what will actually happen is difficult to predict, due to the high level of informality. 

According to Colliers International's analysis for 2022, the construction of 6 towers and the development of New Boulevard will directly affect supply, adding 120,000 square meters of new office space in the short and medium term, which will reach to complete the stock of high-quality offices. 

In the medium term, according to the "Colliers International" report, the increase in competition between owners should bring pressure for a decrease in rental prices in Tirana at regional levels. 

But other real estate agents predict stagnation in office rental prices this year as well. Cases of price reduction, according to them, will happen only through negotiations. High office prices will remain unchanged, due to the phenomenon of money laundering that builders use to erect luxury buildings in the capital. 

In Tirana, real estate agents claimed that the demand for offices for rent is high from foreigners. Foreign companies that provide services to third parties prefer luxurious office environments, mainly in tower buildings, while local businesses are oriented towards the suburbs. 

After reaching the peak level for unoccupied office stock in 2020 (level 24.3%) due to working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the stock of vacant spaces decreased in 2022. 

According to the analysis of the international company "Colliers International", the stock of vacant offices in 2022 has followed a downward trend to 13.5% compared to the 16.5% it reached in 2021, influenced by the rapid return to remote work in office. The report emphasizes that during 2022 there were no major changes in demand compared to previous years. 

Referring to data from "Colliers", the total stock of offices has increased by only 1.8%. In total, the office stock in 2022 was 140,120 m². This increase consists of a surface area of 2,555 m² of quality B+ office space that entered the market in the fourth quarter of 2022 and is located close to the city's CBD (Central Business District). 

"The largest part of the office stock in Tirana is concentrated in the central business areas and in the inner city (82%), while the rest of 18% represents the office stock in the outskirts of the capital," the report states. 

According to the company's analysis, the downward trend in office vacancies in the two years after the start of the pandemic was influenced by the rapid return of workers to offices. 

"Although the Albanian labor market adapted in a fast and impressive way to the new work model during the pandemic, working from home, a revolution not very embraced by both companies and the workforce, the transition from home to office it was fast. 

Based on a survey by 'Colliers', almost 100% of respondents claimed to return to the office by the end of 2020. This affected the stability of the office market and shaped the future demand for better quality offices". 

(Source: Monitor)