REBEC 2025: Office Development in the SEE Region – Clients becoming more sophisticated every year

The supply and demand market for office space in our region is currently healthy and all marketing sectors are doing well in this regard. Although the situation in the country is not the best, the real estate market is adapting, it has learned to function in such circumstances. It has shown this resilience both after the pandemic and after the current wars, and even now when we have a more unstable political situation, so there is no reason to worry, it was said at the panel “Office Development in the SEE Region”, held as part of the REBEC 2025 conference.

– I would say that clients are becoming more sophisticated every year, so we have never tried to sell them something that is not in line with their expectations. They are becoming more and more familiar with practically every parameter of the market, which is good, so you can no longer sell a building so easily without the building being in line with ESG standards – said Bojan Jevtic, founder and Managing Director of Avalon Real Estate.

Milos Grdinic, Director of Development and Asset Management at Delta Real Estate, noted that tenants were looking for space that could match their culture and the needs of each employee.

– So, we are currently trying to put ourselves in the position of such tenants in order to provide this type of space. But right now, as you can see, we have a product that is changing. We have identified this market niche with the possibility of delivering some kind of, let’s say, ecosystem. In these ecosystems, we want to implement not only clean office space, clean office buildings. We also want to provide buildings for development. We would like to adopt the best practices from Western countries and implement the Western charm in Serbia with some kind of finishing touch of the Serbian charm. Specifically in Belgrade, I will remind you, we have the Delta District project. All four of these buildings will offer something completely new to all users. Let’s be honest, we all spend much more time in offices than in our homes. So, with this project, we want to do something new. And we want to, let’s say, leave a mark on the market that will also be an impetus for other competitors to follow us. Tenants appreciate support in all kinds of services, not just square meters, but also the knowledge that they can rely on us as a partner – emphasized Grdinic.

Leon Acim Pantelic, owner and CEO of We Share Space, when it comes to clients, stated that, for example, they provided a solution for their tenants who wanted to collaborate with agents, architects, general contractors...

– A lot of attention is paid to details, for example, air quality or lighting or plants in the office and so on. There is a very specific client market – he said.

Momcilo Pavlovic, Workplace Support Leader at INGKA Group indicates that everything starts with a vision of creating a better everyday life for many people.

– The office and the workplace, it is actually connected to the main question, what is the purpose? Not only because of the cost perspective, not only because of certain issues, it is important to understand when we bring people together, what we want them to achieve. Health and well-being are extremely important, because I think we are still in a big experiment. I think this is a kind of endless process. Understand, create, evaluate and continue. And it’s all about people. So, we, as a tenant, of course, have some kind of requirement. But what we have is a partnership. From our perspective, that’s the best way to move forward. You know, to bring people together, it’s not just about having tables and chairs. It’s about understanding what the purpose is when people come together – Pavlovic noted.

Milos Grdinic believes that our region, when it comes to this area, should not be called a developing market, but a promising market. He recalled that a few years ago, at a conference in Vienna, Novi Sad was ranked among the most promising cities when it comes to office space. Delta, as a company, identified this opportunity by launching a project in this city.

– I am sure that competition will soon follow – he said, and Bojan Jevtic agreed with him, recalling that in the office space market in recent years, especially in Belgrade, there had been a process of reconstructing older office buildings and converting them into business office space adapted to modern standards and tenant requirements.

One of the ideas presented at this panel was that in the future there should be more discussion about hybrid business, about combining residential or co-working spaces in different types of buildings. The speakers also pointed out the importance of applying the principles of sustainability in the office space market. The wish of the panel participants is that in the near future we will be fully at the level of EU companies in this area.

D. A.

Festlent d.o.o. Beograd

We share space doo Beograd

Delta Real Estate d.o.o. Beograd

Avalon Real Estate doo Beograd

REBEC

REBEC 2025

We Share Space doo Beograd

Delta Real Estate

Avalon Real Estate

Leon Aćim Pantelić

Bojan Jevtić

Miloš Grdinić

Momčilo Pavlović

Jelena Vaht Šurkalović