He, along with all real estate agents, has seen the number of deals drop like a rock since Russia sank into economic turmoil. Many Western companies, faced with the option of either downsizing, pulling out or folding, dumped prime office space at any price. All this is to the advantage of tenants. The tables have turned on the landlords who just months ago had tenants at their mercy. Now the tenants make the rules.
Tenants can dictate the terms.
And dictating they are, If a developer cannot satisfactorily tailor leasing terms, the tenant finds another who can. In a bid to win tenants over, owners of spanking-new office space are taking steps that were unheard of before in Moscow. They are not only slashing rents and giving rental holidays but many are also fitting out the space. New space is still going slowly because of competition from subleased space. Experts estimate there is currently some 60,000 square meters of first-generation space available, compared to less than 20,000 square meters early last year.