In Kyiv’s business centers, leasing activity has returned to pre-war levels.

The most troubled commercial real estate market has begun to recover in the war’s third year. The average vacancy rate in Kyiv’s business centers has dropped by 2.7% since the start of the year, and now sits at 22%. Last year, the absorption volume in the Kyiv office market matched 2020’s figures, only 4% lower than in 2021. This suggests that leasing activity has nearly reverted to pre-war market conditions, according to research by CBRE Ukraine.

The total annual gross absorption reached about 129,000 square meters, a 42% increase compared to the previous year. In terms of the types of deals being struck, relocations continued to dominate at 38%, a decrease of 20 percentage points, while market entry deals rose to 25%, an increase of 15 percentage points.

Last year, the Tw12ve, Heritage, and Stoic business centers were launched, adding 34,000 square meters to total office space supply. Kyiv’s total competitive office space supply reached 2.26 million square meters, marking a 2% increase year-on-year.