the essentials Little investment and sharply falling demand. In times of crisis, companies postpone their real estate projects, reveals the latest barometer from the Toulouse corporate real estate observatory. Aeronautics saves the day with big deals in western Toulouse.
“In Toulouse, in the year 2024, economic uncertainty is weighing heavily on the office real estate situation,” notes Elodie Moine, director of the CBRE agency in Toulouse and president of the Toulouse real estate observatory. Among the negative indicators, start-ups which have difficulty raising funds and prefer to postpone their real estate projects, SMEs usually very present in the local economic fabric, which are generally missing. demand is in sharp decline, users have withdrawn, they are vacating large areas and relocating to smaller ones.”
Rental space down 42%
A trend that is relentlessly reflected in the figures. This third quarter of 2024 in Toulouse, barely 26,430 m2 of office space has been marketed, compared to 46,200 m2 over the same period in 2023, a decline of 42%! If we compare with the ten-year average it is 15% less. “Over the first nine months of the year, we only sold 76,000 m2, so we are behind schedule. The annual average is around 130,000 m2, a level that we will not reach this year. “
The biggest deals in the aeronautics sector
Another observation this quarter is that companies linked to the aeronautics sector have concluded the most important deals and the north-west of the agglomeration is doing well. Illustration with two leases of 4,735 m2 and 4 270 m2 in the Blagnac airport park and in Colomiers. “This is a sign of this unusual market, small and medium-sized businesses are traditionally more numerous, but this quarter, transactions of more than 1,000 m2 represent 61% of the market,” indicates the specialist.
Accenture has concluded a lease for 4,735 m2 in the Le Galilée building, Andromeda district in Blagnac. OTIE
The market, on the other hand, was more than average in the city center, and the OTIE warns against a temptation for prices to soar. “On new construction I think that we have reached a glass ceiling in terms of rents and this will be an aspect to take into account in new projects as well as in future renovations in the city center.”
2025 will be another impacted year
Fortunately the trend is better for the business premises market with demand up 7% and 59,100 m2 sold this quarter, including a flagship transaction of 16,000 m2 in aeronautics in Colomiers. In this context, what are the prospects for 2025? “The drop in demand expressed this year by businesses will inevitably impact activity next year, notes Elodie Moine. The only hope concerns the recent drop in key rates to revive investment.”
