Business premises in the center of Podgorica, i.e. in Ulica slobode, were rented out at "pepper" prices a few years ago, even for ten thousand euros per month, and the business owners did not complain about the free location in this part of the capital of Montenegro.
Now in the center of Podgorica there are many business premises that have not been rented out for months, and they can be found for ten euros per square meter, that is, slightly more than one thousand euros per month.
Real estate agencies in Podgorica believe that the amount that used to be paid for premises in Ulica slobode was too high, which was the result of a disrupted market.
"It was not realistic, how they would earn that money in a month. Now the offer is uniform, that is, office space can be rented for ten to 15 euros per square meter, and the price depends on the stage of construction, whether it is finished, equipped, in the gray stage...", explained to "Vijesta" from the "Iva Nekretnine" agency ".
They stated that the lease price for the office space in Ulica Slobode, where until recently there was a Chinese boutique, and it has 90 square meters, is 1.100 euros per month.
"We haven't had anyone interested in business premises in Ulica Slobode for a long time. The most requested spaces are in the City quarter, the part of the city across from Morača".
The Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica, a company of the Capital City, due to the problem of saving tenants of business premises and trying to rent out vacant ones in Ulica Slobode, asked the Assembly of the Capital City to extend the validity of the Decision on reducing rent.
"In recent years, there have been many vacant business spaces in Podgorica, especially in the center, where the supply is much higher than the demand. "Now the most interesting part of the city for renting out business premises is the new part of the city that was built near 'Delta City', where the capital city does not have its own business premises," the explanation of the request states.
Councilors will discuss the request on December 2019, and in order to "preserve the existing tenants and try to rent out vacant business premises, the Agency requests that their request be accepted and the application of the aforementioned decisions be extended to XNUMX."
In 2012, the Assembly of the Capital City adopted the Decision on reducing the amount of rent for office space owned by the Capital City, the following was repealed, but it was voted again at the end of 2014, because the Agency had a big problem in renting out business premises.
The Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica told "Vijesta" that in accordance with the Decision on the leasing of business premises owned by the Capital City of Podgorica, the company uses and maintains a total of 237 business premises.
"From the total number, on 30.11.2018 207 business premises have been leased, and 30 are unleased. Given that by the end of the year there will be one or two more public advertisements for the leasing of vacant business premises, we expect the number of leased premises to be higher".
However, from that company, despite the official request to the Assembly of the Capital City, they claim that there are unleased business premises in different locations in the Capital City and that they are mostly oriented towards the courtyard sides of the building or they are basements and garages.
"Such business premises are located in the streets of 4 July, Velimir Terzić, Ivan Milutinović, Radosav Burić, Aerodromska Street, Nikola Tesla Street and others".
As the "Vijesti" journalist was convinced, there are several empty business premises in Ulica slobode.
According to data from the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica in 2015, there were 19 leased business premises in Ulica slobode, 11 in Novak Miloševa, and one in Hercegovačka.
On the basis of concluded contracts, in 2014, when the Decision on reduction was repealed, the Agency collected 976.722 euros from tenants.
At that time, according to the report, they "harvested" the most income from the tenants to whom they rent premises in Ulica slobode.
Thus, the company "Fashion company" paid 222 euros per month for the lease of an area of 9.087 square meters, and "Barcode" paid 106 euros for an area of 4.067 square meters.
The Agency for Construction and Development recently tried to find tenants for several business premises in the city, among others, for one in Ulica slobode 23 with an area of 113,45 square meters.
For that office space, the starting price on the ad on a monthly basis was 4.198,38 euros with value added tax (VAT).
And Herzegovina in a pinch
Owners from Hercegovačka Street also have a problem with renting out business premises in the city center.
As explained to "Vijesta" by several real estate agencies, that street, once known for its "pepper" prices for renting out business premises, is now completely in the doldrums, and the owners are forced to rent at 70 percent lower prices than before.
"For years, we haven't had anyone's interest in renting out office space in Hercegovačka Street. In the past, the lease of office space depended on square footage and a few thousand euros, now there is no interest at all".
They explained that rents for business premises in Herzegovina are up to one thousand euros, and that the drop in demand started with the construction of "Delta City" and continued with the construction of surrounding buildings and the so-called City Quarter.
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