The resilience of high-end corporate offices was put to the test during the Covid-19 crisis, and the CBDs (Central Business Districts) areas with the highest concentration of offices in São Paulo - are now giving consistent signs that the pandemic effects are behind us.

According to data from the SiiLA Market Analytics platform, the vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2023 was 21.3%, representing a 2 percentage point reduction compared to the same period last year, when the rate was 23.4%. During the period, the city did not register new stock, and net absorption, which consists of the total volume of leased offices minus those returned, remained positive for the sixth consecutive quarter, with nearly 3,000 sqm. These two indicators, along with gross absorption (total volume of leased area), which was 54,841 sqm, contributed to the reduction in the number of vacant offices in the city.

"During the pandemic, the vacancy rate climbed from 15.4%, which was observed in 1Q20, to 25% in the third quarter of 2021. Starting in 4Q21, with the vaccination campaign and consequently the decrease in Covid-19 contamination, as well as the gradual return to the offices, the vacancy rate began to fall again, with the accommodation of the volume of office spaces returned by corporate tenants," explains Giancarlo Nicastro, CEO of SiiLA.

The average price per square meter has been slightly increasing, reaching R$ 92/sqm (about 18.68 dollars), as part of the recovery from the drop observed in 2Q22, when the average price reached R$ 86.60/sqm (about 17.58 dollars). Among the companies that leased the most corporate area in the quarter was the Dutch multinational Rabobank, which absorbed 3,654 sqm in the Chucri Zaidan region, in the southern zone of São Paulo.

"The pandemic undoubtedly caused significant changes in the sector and broke paradigms, with the massive implementation of hybrid work at the height of the crisis. Gradually, the recovery took place, and the numbers show the resilience of high-end assets, dispelling the thesis that offices would disappear," concludes Nicastro.