Take-up wanes in Paris region, immediate supply soars

ImmoStat's figures are implacable. The Île-de-France office rental market is suffering. Take-up stood at 768,400 sq.m in the first half of 2025, down 12% year-on-year and 25% on the ten-year average. The same downward trend can be observed for the second quarter of 2025, which totalled 337,300 m², a drop of 21% year-on-year.

Rental demand "is suffering from companies' desire to control their real estate costs, and from a very cautious approach to decision-making", according to Yannis De Francesco, Executive Director, Office France at JLL. "This is reflected in validation processes that have become very lengthy, and where nothing can be taken for granted until the last moment. What's more, the fact that rents in the CBD are out of sync with economic trends is a real brake on decision-making", he adds.

For Alexandre Fontaine, Executive Director of Offices IDF at CBRE, this slowdown can be partly explained by "a calendar marked by many days not worked", but also by "an uncertain economic climate which is prompting companies to postpone their decisions". "User interest remains high, but projects are taking longer to materialize. The volume of visits is holding steady, albeit involving a smaller number of companies, who are exploring more options thanks to a more abundant supply. The overall drop in take-up is mainly due to the lack of large transactions", he analyzes.

Despite this drop in take-up, it should be noted that there are disparities in the Île-de-France office rental market. "Since the beginning of the year, the market for large surface areas (over 5,000 m²), which is more sensitive to the economic environment, has seen a significant drop (-31%). Conversely, the small and medium-sized space segment (less than 5,000 m²) has once again shown excellent resilience in the current context, with 569,500 m², down by only -2% year-on-year", notes Éric Siesse, deputy managing director in charge of the Île-de-France office rental division at BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory France.

Geographically, there are also disparities in the Île-de-France office rental market. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the downturn in activity in the 1st half of the year did not affect all markets: the CBD recorded 157,000 sq.m of take-up, virtually unchanged from last year. The 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements, meanwhile, posted a notable 89% year-on-year increase, although this should be put into perspective in view of a particularly sluggish market in 2024, according to the consultancy.

Also according to Cushman & Wakefield, on the outskirts, Neuilly-Levallois (+46%) and the Eastern suburbs (+77%) posted better results than last year. "However, it was the southern suburbs that recorded the strongest performance (+142%), boosted by a revival of activity in areas larger than 1,000 m² in Q2", emphasizes the consultancy. "This southern market (77,000 m²) is making a comeback in 2025, after a low level of activity in 2024; it is once again among the top three most dynamic sectors in terms of volume placed: after Paris CBD (157,000 m²) and ahead of La Défense (65,000 m²). Between January and early July 2025, these three markets accounted for the highest number of movements in excess of 1,000 m². "

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the La Défense district, historically driven by large transactions in excess of 5,000 m², has established itself over the past five years as a benchmark market for small and medium-sized businesses. This trend was further accentuated in the 1st half of 2025, with take-up for small spaces exceeding 13,000 m², and for medium-sized spaces approaching 48,000 m², reaching levels not seen for 20 years. "Take-up for medium-sized companies (1,000 to 5,000 m²) in La Défense is at its highest level for 20 years, and almost rivals Paris QCA in this same segment, both in terms of number of transactions and surface area," says Olivier Taupin, Head of Agency Office & Industrial at Cushman & Wakefield.

JLL also points out that prime rents in Paris are not losing momentum. "While the CBD has set a new record at €1,200/m², up 20% year-on-year, many other Parisian sectors are not lagging behind, such as Paris Centre Ouest at €940/m² (+8%) or Paris 5/6/7 at €1,050/m² (+13%)".

" Faced with this dynamic, peripheral markets, which offer financial opportunities, are stable or down year-on-year: La Défense is positioned at €550/sq.m (+4%), Neuilly-Levallois at €650/sq.m (-7%), the first northern suburbs at €360/sq.m (-10%), the first southern suburbs at €420/sq.m (stable)", continues the consultancy, which stresses that "this growing divergence could be the driving force behind activity on the outskirts in the face of a Parisian market out of touch with companies' economic realities".

" Companies that are coming to the end of their leases and looking for new premises in Paris are facing a sharp rise in market rents and development costs, not offset by accompanying measures. In addition, DEET compliance is adding to future costs. As a result, some companies, after confronting the market, prefer to renegotiate their lease or decide to leave the capital", comments Marie Martins, Director of tenant representation France at JLL.

Immediate supply of office space in the Paris Region on June 30, 2025 stood at 5,992,000 m², up 20% on its level a year ago. "Immediate supply is beating a new all-time record", emphasizes Cushman & Wakefield. "Almost all markets are affected by the increase in inventory. Some peripheral sectors are recording particularly high levels of supply, exceeding 4 years of marketing at their current rate of disposal".

However, in Paris, the picture is quite different, notes the consultancy: "in the central markets, where supply is lacking, the increase in availability is, on the contrary, welcome. It is being driven by new building deliveries, especially restructurings, giving companies more choice. This increase in the stock of quality buildings should revitalize intramural sales in the most sought-after markets".

What about the outlook for the Île-de-France office rental market? For Éric Siesse, deputy managing director of BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory France's Île-de-France office rental division, these mid-year results "point to an inflection point in the geographical dynamic". "While the market slowdown has not affected the historically high prime value in the Paris CBD, other more peripheral sectors, which are generally over-supplied, are now clearly being challenged by the degree of demand and selectivity of users. The good news, however, is that in this uncertain context, the return to office space reported in the press by a number of major companies could provide a further boost to growth over the coming months", he anticipates.

" For 2025, in view of the negotiations underway, take-up by major users should be slightly higher in volume terms than in 2024, thanks to several very large transactions in excess of 15,000 sq.m", says Alexandre Fontaine, Executive Director of CBRE's IDF office division. "Coupled with the stability of volumes expected in the 0-5,000 sq.m segment, this means we can expect annual take-up to land at around 1.8 million sq.m".

Yannis De Francesco, Executive Director, Office France, JLL, anticipates a similar landing: "Our forecast for 2025 is now in the 1.6 to 1.7 million m2 range. We are, of course, paying close attention to the announcements concerning the return to office space and their potential effects on future demand, as well as to the 2017-2018 lease expiries, which could hopefully lead to more dynamic activity in 2026."

" One thing is certain: the second half of the year will be more decisive than ever for the overall annual result. At this stage, the major deals to be signed, in excess of 20,000 m², in the inner suburbs and at La Défense, while auspicious, will not enable us to reach the symbolic 2 million m² mark. Instead, we anticipate an annual volume close to 2024 of between 1.7 and 1.8 million m²", concludes Olivier Taupin, Head of Agency Office & Industrial at Cushman & Wakefield.