Selling an office building in a market with vacancy: this determines your price
A market with two faces
Since the widespread introduction of hybrid working, companies are renting fewer square metres on average, but better ones. Easily accessible, sustainable offices near a station retain their tenants. Outdated offices in car-dependent locations are struggling. For you as an owner, the question is therefore not so much "what is the market", but "on which side of that divide does my property stand".
The five points on which a buyer assesses your office
1. Energy label. Since 1 January 2023, office buildings have been mandatory to have at least energy label C. If your property does not comply, a buyer is purchasing an investment obligation. Expect those costs to be fully deducted from your price, often with a risk premium on top. Background information is in our explanation about energy label C for offices and on rvo.nl.
2. Divisibility. An office of 1,200 m2 that can only be used as a whole has fewer interested parties than the same property with three independent units, private entrances, and separate meters. Divisibility expands your buyer group and reduces the vacancy risk for the buyer.
3. The tenant base. Duration, quality of the tenant, and the rental price relative to the market. A tenant with only one year left is often valued by buyers as if it were vacant.
4. Parking and accessibility. In car-dependent locations, the parking standard is decisive, while in city centres, it is the walking distance to the station.
5. Transformation potential. Can the building be converted to residential, healthcare, or mixed use? Since the Environment Act (Omgevingswet), this works via your municipality's environment plan; check the possibilities in the Omgevingsloket. An office with residential potential is often valued higher by investors than as an office.
What you can do before you sell
Not everything is worth the investment. Making a property sustainable from D to A rarely pays for itself within a few months upon sale. What almost always pays off is:
- A current measurement report according to NEN 2580, so there is no discussion about the surface area.
- A complete file: lease agreements, maintenance contracts, installation logs, asbestos inventory.
- Resolving small, visible defects: leaks, broken lighting, damaged entrance. This costs little and prevents a buyer from doubting the maintenance they cannot see.
- Clarity on the VAT status of the property.
Selling to a purchasing party
We purchase office buildings ourselves, including buildings with a poor label or partial vacancy. That is intentional: vacancy that is a problem for a user is an occupancy task for an investor. Because we are the buyer ourselves, there is no estate agent commission and no financing proviso, and you determine the completion date yourself.
What it is not: a guarantee of the highest price. A good office with a strong tenant in an A-location can yield more in a public process. We prefer to say that beforehand rather than afterwards.
Short step-by-step plan
- Collect the file (rent, label, measurement report, maintenance).
- Determine your bottom line together with your accountant, net after tax.
- Request both a market indication and a direct offer.
- Choose based on net proceeds and certainty, not just on the asking price.
Read more on our page selling an office building or request a price directly.