The outlook for the major global economies improved in 1Q23 compared to year-end expectations. However, the continued war in the Ukraine, the inability to provide new stimuli due to high levels of country debts following Covid, limited supplies of energy and other commodities, and tighter access to funding due to inflation have kept activity levels down. In Brazil, GDP grew by 2.9% in 2022, following from 5.0% of growth in 2021, and a 3.3% drop in 2020. From the perspective of supply, industry and services grew, while agriculture and ranching slowed down. Services were the largest contributor to annual GDP growth, in particular transportation.
Lease activity in Rio de Janeiro has dropped, and returned spaces once again exceeded new transactions, resulting in net absorption of -10.5 thousand sq.m. Thus, the vacancy rate, which had been dropping since mid-2021, is climbing back up and reached 34.11% at the end of the quarter.
Download Rio de Janeiro Office Market Report Q1 2023