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São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro hold the largest concentrations of office space in Brazil, with 3.6 million m² and 1.3 million m², respectively, considering only Class A+ and A buildings. Each market has its own characteristics, which have evolved over time.
Today, the companies occupying the most Class A+ and A office space in São Paulo belong to the FIRE segment (finance, insurance, and real estate). In Rio de Janeiro, the current landscape is similar—though it hasn’t always been that way.
Data from SiiLA’s Market Analytics platform highlights how both markets have shifted over the years. While São Paulo has consistently been led by FIRE companies, Rio de Janeiro was long dominated by firms in the Oil & Gas industry.
The office market in Rio has gone through several phases. Looking at three key years—2018, 2021, and 2024—there’s a clear shift in sector dominance. In 2018, Oil & Gas companies held the top spot, occupying 29.3% of the total space, driven by proximity to Brazil’s pre-salt reserves and the presence of Petrobras headquarters in the city.
By 2021, the scenario had flipped: the FIRE sector took the lead with the same 29.3% share, while Oil & Gas dropped to 24.7%. Since then, both sectors have been alternating in the top positions through to the end of 2024.
But it’s not just a tug-of-war at the top. Since 2018, the Government/Nonprofit and Public Services sectors have also been trading places, showing a broader shift in the city’s office landscape.
In São Paulo, there’s been less of a battle for dominance. The FIRE sector has remained firmly in the lead, with over 1 million m² occupied. It accounted for 38.4% of occupied space in 2018, dipped slightly to 37.7% in 2021, and settled at 36.1% in 2024—still far ahead of other segments.
The second-largest sector doesn’t pose a threat to FIRE’s lead. The TAMI segment (technology, advertising, media, and information) currently occupies 11.8% of the market, or 423 thousand m².
Despite São Paulo’s overall stability, one noteworthy trend has been the growth of the Health Sciences segment, which jumped from 209 thousand m² in 2018 to 294 thousand m² in 2024. This increase moved the sector from fifth to third place in just six years—boosted in part by the Sancta Maggiore hospital, which leased 24 thousand m² at TEK – Nações Unidas at the end of 2018.











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