The commercial property rental market is showing signs of increased activity, pointing to a cautious improvement in business confidence. The number of enquiries for Everaus Kinnisvara’s commercial premises, particularly stock-office units, has jumped with the arrival of autumn, while occupancy has increased noticeably in recent months.
“We can clearly see businesses becoming more active. The number of enquiries has increased, and the occupancy rate of our stock-office premises alone has risen by several percentage points over the past few months,” said Janar Muttik, Member of the Management Board of Everaus Kinnisvara. “Growing interest in commercial premises is an early indicator of how businesses perceive the economic environment. During more challenging times, companies tended to look for smaller, more affordable premises or options involving shorter commitments. As confidence improves, they once again start considering solutions that support growth, sales and business expansion.”
According to Statistics Estonia’s economic sentiment indicator for August, assessments improved across all four business sectors compared with July. The latest economic indicators also point to a stabilisation of the business environment: in the second quarter, Estonia’s GDP grew by 1.8% year on year, construction volume increased by 3.8%, and retail sales volume rose by 4% in July. According to Muttik, the commercial property market is one of the areas where changes in business confidence become visible quickly.
“With commercial premises and mini-storage units, we get an immediate sense of what is happening within companies. We can see that businesses have recently become more willing to make longer-term decisions and are also more confident about pursuing new ideas. Interest in new and larger premises has grown, and companies are thinking about the next stage of their growth,” Muttik explained.
Alongside stock-office premises, there is also growing demand for units that combine customer-facing space with storage facilities, he said. Such premises are needed, for example, by businesses that need to store goods, showcase products to customers and, at the same time, keep their day-to-day operations efficient.
“Today’s businesses are not necessarily looking for a traditional office or a separate warehouse. They want a solution that is logistically convenient, cost-efficient and adaptable. This is why stock-office premises are very well positioned in the current market, and we are pleased that several years ago we made the strategic decision to start offering this type of commercial space,” said Muttik. He added that smaller storage units have also proved popular among private customers, who use clean and dry premises, for example, to store their car collections.
In addition to stock-office premises, Everaus Kinnisvara’s commercial property portfolio includes warehouses, mini-storage units and other commercial premises. The company manages a total of 670 mini-storage units at its warehouse complexes in Haabersti and Peetri. The Lennuradari warehouse complex comprises seven commercial buildings with 106 commercial units and a total floor area of 6,500 m².
