Riyadh Office Market Outlook to 2023

The report titled "Riyadh Office Market Outlook to 2023 - Improving Oversupply Environment Driven by Rise in Demand for Premium Office Space and Upcoming Completion of Smart City and Office Projects" provides information on overview of the overview of Riyadh city, factors influencing the Riyadh office market, supply and demand assessment of office market in Riyadh by segment (premium, grade A, grade B), market insight and performance, average rental rates by segments, average occupancy rate by region, typical characteristics of offices in Riyadh. The report also includes competitive analysis of offices in the Riyadh city and key features and characteristics of office sector in Riyadh. The report concludes with the future outlook, opportunities and future development trends; future landscape of office sector and investment opportunities in this sector; and with key expected upcoming office building projects in the Riyadh.

Riyadh Office Market: Infrastructure development trends over the past few years in Riyadh indicates that the capital city is growing towards the Northern areas, where the properties have the highest sale prices and experience faster absorption rates. The Eastern region of Riyadh can be utilized for office purposes as the sale prices are lower in the East of Riyadh along with potential absorption for new developments thus, indicating strong demand for this area. The North of Riyadh is evaluated with highest sale prices along highest absorption rates for office spaces including government and private firms owing to better infrastructure and the completion of a number of high profile projects for instance, KAFD, Rafal Tower, and PNU. Some of the major factors influencing Riyadh office space are strong government initiatives, emergence of international companies in Riyadh, positive economic development, increase in women workforce, location factor, expat exodus or Saudization, and physical conditions of office premises.

Supply and Demand Assessment in Riyadh: The office market in Riyadh was subdued in the first quarter of 2019, but is expected to pick up from the next quarter backed by the government initiatives to promote participation and investment of private sector in the country’s economy. The government is looking forward to extend support to more small and medium enterprises for its growth. The announcement of developing first Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) in Riyadh which is to be situated in King Khalid International Airport is another step taken by the government to attract multinational companies to Riyadh. Premium office spaces are in high demand as they offer several additional amenities and are located in the center of city. Rent for grade B offices are reducing over the years due to falling demand for grade B offices. Riyadh will witness an evolution of product offerings across its office market. The supply for office spaces have been consistently increasing over the years to accommodate increasing number companies in Riyadh. However, the supply has always been ahead due to subdued demand of occupiers. The excess supply has not only affected the occupancy rate starkly but has also affected the developers indirectly by putting pressure on decreasing rents.

Market Insight and Performance: In terms of performance, market wide rents and occupancy levels have been under pressure since 2016, with the trend continuing into 2018 amid increasing levels of supply and subdued occupier demand. There had been improvement in business sentiment in 2018 with rents and occupancy likely to remain under pressure as increased demand has met with new supply. Vacancy rates therefore were expected to rise placing downward pressure on rents. In this context, it has been witnessed that landlords will continue offering incentives in order to maintain occupancy levels amid an increasingly competitive market.
Average Rental Rates by Segments
The average rentals of offices spaces are influenced by a number of factors such as location, connectivity with other parts of the city, company size and budget of the company. The financial status of the company clearly determines the location preference and their office layout preferences. The decline in the rent of offices is majorly due to lack of supply for premium offices. Grade-A office rents are also underpinned due to shortage in supply. The grade B offices are not tenant friendly and are not preferred due to difficulty of accessibility and lack of parking space and would continue to decline. The lease and rent norms are very stringent and do not provide flexibility hence there was a consistent decline in the average rents of office spaces.

Average Occupancy Rate by Region: The occupancy rates of offices in Riyadh are influenced by a number of factors such as location, commercial activities around the location, ease in commutation and special amenities. The supply and demand disparity in the market has further fueled the occupancy rates to remain stable throughout 2018. A number of high profile occupiers are upgrading to premium offices but the market wide demand of offices in Riyadh is stable. Locations such as King Fahd Road, Eastern Ring Road and Olaya streets are found to have higher occupancy rates because of the premium infrastructure and higher commercial activities available around those areas.

Case Studies of Major Office Projects in Riyadh: Majority of the office projects in Riyadh were observed in their developing phase however, the competition scenario is anticipated to change in the near future along with the expected entry of new players in the city’s office market. Factors such as government push, emergence of international companies in Riyadh, positive economic development, and increase in women workforce, are expected to create a positive impact on the market. Some of major office projects operating in Riyadh include Home Office, The Elite Center, Motoon Commercial Towers, The Cube, Aknaz Center which compete on the basis of various parameters including total build up area, total leasable area, average annual rental rates, number of offices, number of floors, average occupancy rate, number of office units and type of facilities and amenities available in the office.

Riyadh Office Market Future Outlook: The Return on Investment (ROI) over a commercial property is highly dependent on the type of office stock. There has been a situation of excess supply in the market. As a result of which, a decent return can be expected out of investing in premium class and Grade A properties however, investing in Grade B and B+ properties can incur losses. Apart from that, additional office supply from major office projects particularly the KAFD (King Abdullah Financial District) is expected to enter and increase the supply in the near future.

Key Topics Covered in the Report

• Riyadh City Review
• Factors Influencing Riyadh Residential Market
• Supply and Demand Assessment in Riyadh by Segment (Premium, Grade A and Grade B), 2013-2023E
• Market Insight and Performance
• Average Rental Rate of Offices in Riyadh
• Average Occupancy rates of Offices
• Riyadh Office Market Future Outlook, Opportunities And Development Trends
• Recommendations For Riyadh Office Market
• Riyadh Office Market Future Outlook (Is Investment Profitable Or Not?)
• Key Features and Characteristics of Offices in Riyadh
• Key Expected Upcoming Office Projects In Riyadh City
• Case Studies Of Major Office Complexes In Riyadh
• Cross Comparison Within Major Office Properties In Riyadh
• Heat Map Analysis For Riyadh Office Complexes