Growing Interest in Commercial Space Leasing Points to Improved Business Confidence

The commercial real estate rental market is showing signs of increased activity, indicating cautious improvement in business confidence among entrepreneurs. At Everaus Real Estate, inquiries for commercial spaces, particularly stock-office spaces, have surged with the arrival of autumn, and occupancy rates have increased noticeably in recent months. 

„There is a clear activation of entrepreneurs. The number of inquiries has increased, and our stock-office commercial space occupancy alone has grown by several percentage points over recent months," said Janar Muttik, a member of the board of Everaus Real Estate.  „The growing interest in the commercial real estate market is an early sign of how entrepreneurs perceive the economic environment. If during difficult times they were looking for smaller, cheaper, or shorter-term spaces, then as confidence improves, they start looking again at solutions that support growth, sales, and business expansion."

According to Statistics Estonia's August business confidence barometer, assessments improved across all four business sectors compared to July, and recent economic indicators also point to stabilization of the business environment: Estonia's GDP grew by 1.8% year-on-year in the second quarter, construction volume increased by 3.8%, and in July, retail sales volume grew by 4%. According to Muttik, the commercial real estate market is one of the places where changes in business confidence become visible quickly.

 „In commercial spaces and mini-warehouses, we directly sense what is happening within companies. We see that entrepreneurs have recently been willing to make long-term decisions and dare to start new ideas. Interest in new and larger spaces has grown, and entrepreneurs are thinking about the next stage of their growth," explained Muttik. 

According to him, alongside stock-office spaces, there is increasingly more demand for a combination of customer area and warehouse. Such spaces are needed, for example, by companies that need to store goods, display products to customers, and at the same time maintain efficient daily operations.

„Today's entrepreneur is not necessarily looking for a classic office or a separate warehouse. They want a solution that is logistically convenient, cost-effective, and adaptable. This is why stock-office type spaces are very well positioned in the current market phase, and we are pleased that we chose the strategic direction of offering such commercial spaces several years ago," said Muttik. He added that smaller warehouse spaces have also become popular among private individuals, for whom clean and dry rooms are suitable for storing their car collections, for example. 

In addition to stock-office spaces, Everaus Real Estate's commercial real estate portfolio includes warehouses, mini-warehouses, and other commercial spaces. The company manages a total of 670 mini-warehouses in the Haabersti and Peetri warehouse complexes. The Lennuradari warehouse complex consists of a total of 7 commercial buildings, 106 commercial spaces, and a total area of 6,500 m².