Colombia. The corporate market in Colombia is maturing, especially that of the offices, which now has more sophisticated products, at the height of countries such as Mexico and Chile.
For example, from Colliers International it will be asserted that large investors such as real estate funds have allowed several projects to materialize; better yet, they are already operating with high-end tenants. In addition, when seeing the business model of the construction of offices, there are few developments for sale and, on the contrary, most seek lease as a long-term return on investment, with specialized landlords .
Now, it is no secret that the market has entered a historical volume of square meters that, incidentally, enriched the quality of the inventory. Similarly, marketers have had to face a natural phenomenon due to the slowdown: High supply, which generates strong competition.
Even so, contrary to what one would think, the closing figures of 2016 are comforting, since about 153,000 profitable square meters were occupied in Bogotá and 53,000 in Medellín. Here the skill of the owners has been key, who attracted tenants from other buildings with aggressive strategies of price moderation and better bidding conditions. It even happened that as a result of the annual increases their rents were equal to or above what the new generation of buildings offered them.
This year, according to the Dane, the construction will be given by the execution or not of the 2016 licenses, which totaled about 950,000 square meters for an increase of 8 percent compared to 2015. But it must be taken with care, because no matter how optimistic the occupation generates, the vacancy in Bogotá close to 11 percent invites caution, since licensing is not necessarily an indicator of short-term activity.
Thus, it is expected that 2017 will be a year similar to 2016, in which the square meters that are on offer – almost 240,000 in Bogotá and 65,000 in other major cities, plus the projects that will be completed that add up to 260,000 square meters in Bogotá and 107,000 in the rest of the cities – will maintain the fight for tenants who will live a good time to evaluate better conditions.
