Office rents across Europe fell furthest in Moscow, Warsaw and London in the fourth quarter of 2008, research by Jones Lang LaSalle said.
According to the property consultancy’s 'Office Clock', Moscow was hit the worst with a rental value slump of 26.3% in the last three months of 2008.
Warsaw saw rents drop by 15.2% and London's West End saw rents fall by 11.6%.
The ‘Office Clock’ divides European cities into four quadrants with rental values falling, slowing, accelerating or bottoming out.
Chris Staveley, head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s cross border team said: ‘At the end of 2008 15 markets on our European Office Property Clock were in the quadrant we define as ‘rents falling’.
‘In 2009 further downward pressure will be seen for most European markets.’
Overall European take-up during 2008 was 134.5m sq ft which was 12% down on 2007 volumes but 12% above the five year average.
Vacancy rates range from 1.9% in Luxembourg to 16.8% in Dublin. Moscow, which saw a high number of office completion and deteriorating demand, saw vacancy jump from 3.2% to 14.3% over 2008.
‘Given the weakening economic outlook for European office market, and major job cuts are now occurring in various business sectors therefore office demand is expected to suffer further in 2009,’ said Staveley. ‘The financial centres of London, Paris and Frankfurt being particularly at risk from deteriorating levels of occupier demand.’
