Office lease deals for around 8,807 sqm were closed during Q1 in Timișoara, already exceeding the total volume from last year. Cluj-Napoca secured second place with 25% (3,417 sqm) of transactions, while Iași ranked third with 12%.

The report highlights a notable decrease in the average leased space, shrinking to 988 sqm in Q1 2025 from 1,767 sqm in Q1 2024. However, the overall volume of modern office spaces rented outside the capital saw a 27% reduction. 

Nicolae Ciobanu, Managing Partner and Head of Advisory at Fortim Trusted Advisors, said: "Timișoara is an important regional business hub, and several large companies are currently analyzing whether to maintain their current office space or move to another building. In secondary cities such as Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, and Iași, the office vacancy rate is lower than in the capital, so when a large company relocates, it leads to a series of cascading transactions, with several smaller companies targeting the freed-up space. These tenant movements in the market compensate for the lack of new buildings being delivered in these cities during this period."

Looking ahead, regional cities are poised for faster development than Bucharest in the coming two to three years, with significant commercial projects in the pipeline, particularly in Cluj-Napoca. 

For instance, in Cluj-Napoca, there are plans for over 200,000 sqm of office space, while in Timișoara, the figure is closer to 30,000 sqm, according to Ciobanu.