Knight Frank: Occupiers set to remain in driving seat as prime office rents remain under pressure in Nairobi
- Occupancy levels unchanged at 70% in Q1 2021 same as Q4 2020
- Office rental rates dropped marginally from US$1.3 per square foot (sq. ft) per month in Q1 2020 to US$1.12 per sq. ft per month in Q1 2021
- Fundamentals such as working from home, continued oversupply of commercial space, unfavourable economic conditions are reasons why performance of prime offices remains unchanged
- Encouragingly the number of live enquiries and requirements has increased towards the end of the quarter as some business confidence returns
Nairobi, Kenya - The performance of office rents across Africa remains mixed, according to Knight Frank’s inaugural Africa Office Market Dashboard for Q1 2021. Like most other regions around the world, African cities have seen diminished office demand, which has been exacerbated by the economic fallout as a result of the pandemic.
According to Knight Frank’s 28-city composite index, which tracks office rental performance in some of Africa’s most prominent cities, prime office rents remained stable during Q1 2021.
Anthony Havelock, Head of Agency, Knight Frank Kenya says, “Having started positively the Nairobi office market performance once again has been largely subdued owing to the lockdown restrictions imposed towards the end of Q1 which impacted negatively on market activity. There remains an oversupply of commercial space in most districts across the city which together with the slowly recovering economy and working from home dynamic has given occupiers the upper hand in lease term negotiations and forced landlords/developers to be more flexible. Positively as the global vaccination rate has increased and with some lockdown measures improving, we are seeing multinational occupiers looking to re-occupy their spaces and relook at their strategies which in turn is leading to increased market activity.”
Tilda Mwai, Knight Frank Researcher for Africa explained, “Each market has continued to be impacted by unique factors beyond the pandemic such as currency fluctuations in South Africa, the political climate in Lusaka and a supply glut in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
“On the other hand, locations such as Kampala are expected to record a rise in occupier activity due to the recent signing of the East African crude oil pipeline project which we expect will drive up demand from the oil and gas sector in particular”.
Financial services and the technology sector have been the most notable sectors driving occupier demand mirroring trends in the global market, according to Knight Frank.
Looking ahead, Knight Frank anticipates that the prime office market across the continent will remain tenant favourable throughout 2021. Trends on consolidation of space and flight to quality are likely to continue as occupiers seek to leverage on the weaker market conditions to upgrade the space occupied.
