Business property: the sudden shift

Professionals are currently mentioning a return to a normal marketing after last year's shortage but fear the future.

In the business property sector, there is nothing to do with the great euphoria of 2000, and even before the events of September 11th. There is even nothing to do with the situation registered in 1992-1993, at the time of the Gulf post-war. Professionals, who gathered for the review of the situation of the first semester 2001, for the Immobilier d'Entreprise Côte d'Azur do all agree on a sudden change of the situation in this sector. The shortage is over now. However, they consider that the French Riviera is far from having an excess of property available. They hardly consider that the situation of the property market is coming back to a more "normal" marketing level. The standard of transactions is, with 43,700 sq. meters, on the first semester 2001, nearly the same as the first term 2000.Sophia Antipolis: stocks were refilled. This return to a normal situation is particularly sensitive on the science park. For the first semester 2001, Sophia, the leading department in the business property, has found some square meters left: 30,000 sq. meters available at the end of June, which represents 33% of the property in the department and a year of marketing. There is nothing alarming. This percentage was much lower last year (18,000 sq. meters at the end of December 2000) whereas the shortage of premises was getting worse and programmes to come were almost all already rented.In volume, transactions in Sophia, which represented 55% of transactions in the Alpes-Maritimes in 2000 (34% on the first semester 2001) have indeed decreased: 60,000 square meters last year and approximately 25 up to 30,000 sq. meters this year (the incidence of the slowdown noted at the beginning of September, which increased because of the impact of terrorist attacks in the United States is difficult to assess).For now, companies can finally benefit from available space, although some of them don't have necessarily the same needs than at the time of the euphoria. For example, Corvis, who had booked 2,500 sq. meters, will only take half of it and will rent the rest of it. Kast Telecom, another example, is far from using the 900-sq. meters it owns in the premises of the IMRA, with 5-6 people.If no take-over was registered in the NTIC sector, the main activity sector on the science park, this sudden shift in the business property might get worse. On one hand, most of large groups have stopped to expand their premises, some companies close and candidates for creation or relocation are decreasing. As a consequence, the demand of premises is decreasing. On the other hand, the projects claimed two years ago begin to arrive on the market and increase the offer. Thus, the SYMISA sold 120,000 sq. meters of rent charges within two years, including 40,000 sq. meters already delivered a year ago or under construction. Moreover, if a crisis is not mentioned, real estate professionals do still follow the evolution of the situation.Nice: a big shortage of large surfaces. The market in Nice is coming to an end. If there is still products on the market, it is due to the phenomenon of companies closing down. However, the shortage is still very important for large surfaces. Nice West (Arénas and Méridia) didn't register any new delivery of office surfaces within 10 years (the last building built was the Aéropole at the Arenas). The Méridia project, in the plain of the Var, will only deliver its first square meters by at least 2004.The situation is even worse for the working or storage premises of companies where the only industrial area of Carros still offers availability. Thus, this is the biggest problem the French Riviera economy will have to face for property business professionals who claim the establishment of a land policy in favour of production activities.