The calm before the storm…maybe?

We have entered into August which, along with Christmas, is notoriously one of the quietest times of the year in the property market. The reason for this is everyone seems to go on holiday and it can become quite difficult for anything to get done. This can be a very frustrating period for tenants looking to take on new office space as it can seem as if there is no office space left available. 

Due to the traditionally quiet period, landlords tend to hold off putting new office spaces onto the market until we move a couple of weeks into September in order to save on marketing costs. This, coupled with an extremely tight market at the moment, in turn makes it very difficult to find available office space. This is particularly the case for offices between 1,000-2,000 square feet, with the added factor of landlords being able to convert their offices to residential without going through detailed planning permission. With residential values being considerably higher than office values, many landlords who have the opportunity for vacant possession are taking it and converting their building into residential flats. 

The office market should pick up a couple of weeks into September as landlords start to bring new spaces on. Although with the market being as tight as it is, we would not expect this to happen to the same extent as it has done in the last few years.  In this current market, it is very important to have a pro-active agent acting for you who is able to inform you of office spaces which are available before they come onto the open market. 

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.