The office market in the Geneva region predominantly remained dynamic throughout 2023, the availability rate was at 6.1% as of end-2023 (previous year: 6.0%). Demand for office space in Geneva’s central business district remains robust even though the vacancy rates in the CBD right bank and CBD left bank submarkets have risen to 2.4% and 3.8%, respectively. In absolute terms, the supply of available office space in Geneva’s CBD increased by 13,600 m2 in 2023 to 33,300 m2.
The expansion was attributable to the completion of renovation work in several buildings and the return of that office space back onto the market.
This chapter is part of the Office Market Study 2024 by JLL Switzerland
Prime rent price rises
After persistently hovering at CHF 850 per m2 per annum for a long time, a stepwise increase in the prime rent price in Geneva to CHF 900 was observable in 2023. Moreover, tenants searching for office space in Geneva’s CBD are faced with two challenges. First, contiguous office spaces spanning 1,000 m2 or 250 m2 on one storey are near impossible to find. Second, companies are imposing increasingly stringent sustainability requirements, but only few buildings in the CBD are capable of meeting them.
More and more companies are thus widening their search radius and are taking into consideration office locations on the outskirts of the city, where sustainability requirements are usually better met because many properties there are newer than in the CBD.
The periphery is gaining allure
The office-space availability rate in the La Praille/Acacias/Lancy submarket decreased to 4.9% as of end-2023, which is remarkable considering the recent completion of the ALTO and Esplanade 3 projects in the Pont-Rouge district (which brought 65,000 m2 onto the market). A number of lettings in the ALTO building to companies in the financial and commercial sectors contributed to the absorption of this office space. The prime rent price in this submarket stands at CHF 540 per m2 per annum.
A pickup in activity in the airport region was registered last year, with major leasings in Blandonnet and in the Quartier de l’Étang district. The office-space availability rate in the airport submarket decreased to 15.9% as of end-2023 from 18.3% a year earlier. The availability rate in the Plan-les-Ouates submarket likewise fell, from 9.1% to 7.2%, over the same 12-month period.
Office market Switzerland 2024
This page is part of the annual office market study by JLL Switzerland. Under the following links you will find detailed information on the individual regional markets.
Office market study Switzerland 2024
You can find the entire office market study Switzerland 2024 here. The report provides comprehensive insight on the office space markets in Zurich, Geneva, Bern, Lausanne, Basel and Zug. In addition to providing key data and reporting on the most significant changes in Switzerland’s largest market areas, the office market study also highlights some regional idiosyncrasies and presents a brief digression on Europe.
