Giancarlo Nicastro, CEO of SiiLA, participated in a debate on Tuesday, the 30th, opening the agenda of the 6th Edition of Arena Office, taking place at São Paulo Expo until Friday, February 2, during the ABIMAD - Brazilian Association of High Decoration Furniture Industries fair.

The opening panel discussed the properties sector and the macroeconomic scenario for 2024, featuring Tânia Costa, Real Estate Development Director at IWG Group, and Paulo Mancio, Global VP of Development at DAMAC Properties. The discussion was moderated by journalist Gumae Carvalho.

During the conversation, executives discussed the revival in office occupancy. By the end of 2023, SiiLA data shows that in São Paulo, in high-end developments, the vacancy rate is around 24%. "It's already more than proven that offices won't disappear. Companies are adapting to the new reality, the hybrid model is here to stay, and, therefore, companies need to keep their headquarters active and attractive to their employees", commented the CEO of SiiLA.

According to the executives, the recovery of the office market is favoring well-located and high-quality buildings. "For our market, 'location, location, location' makes complete sense because the client chooses a flexible office that makes sense for their life, aligning with their other activities", said Tânia Costa.

Paulo Mancio adds, "I really don't see a problem of demand or scarcity. The market demands first-rate products, and by first-rate, I mean versatile, flexible, offering experiences for people working in that environment, blending the opportunity to do other things, living with more quality."

Regarding high-end assets, Nicastro pointed out that in Brazil, the stock of such assets is still limited. "In São Paulo, the largest office market in Brazil, there are currently less than 100 Class A+ buildings. Our problem today is not the demand for our products to attract foreign capital. That exists. Our problem is the small number of assets. We have few investors and few assets that have the condition to change hands. If a foreign fund comes wanting to invest, it will have difficulty allocating this capital because we don't have many opportunities, not so many assets."

"In the past few days, Itaú's purchase of the Faria Lima building caught attention because of the value, R$ 1.5 billion. And why did it catch attention? In Dubai, this is routine in business. But here in Brazil, we really don't have this capital flow for the real estate sector", commented Paulo Mancio. 

The transaction he refers to was completed in December when Itaú bought the headquarters occupied by Itaú BBA, the Faria Lima 3500 building, for R$ 1,458,870,160.00.

"Why did Itaú pay this price? Because there is no other asset like it in the country. With the location that Faria Lima 3500 has, with the quality the property has, there is no other", Nicastro added.