"Today's vacancy rate of 8.5 percent in Moscow is expected to double next year, going over 15 percent. Take up of office space, will fall in half in 2009, hitting 1 million square meters, from 2 million today," said commercial real estate consultant James Brooke.
Until the financial crisis hit in the summer, major firms were increasing their office space, assuming they would need to expand their work force by 15-20 percent per year. Now they are looking to sublet this space as staff are being laid off and recruitment put on hold.
"As late as July the big companies over rented. Many people thought the economy would keep growing and pay rolls would keep expanding. In September/October they were stuck with hundreds of thousands of square feet of excess office space," Brooke added.
