A strong university center, with two prestigious educational institutions – Alexandru Ioan Cuza University and Gheorghe Asachi Technical University – which together enroll around 40,000 students annually, Iasi has benefited from the well-trained workforce and attracted numerous investments from IT, BPO & SSC and auto industries. Subsequently, the local real estate market had a dynamic evolution, especially on the office & residential sectors. With a county population of 975,586, of which 391,024 are in Iasi, the annual GDP stands at 8 billion EUR.
With a well-educated workforce, Iasi attracted important employers, Amazon hosting here an important R&D center. The facility plays a major role in the city’s tech industry, employing skilled experts who are inventing new technologies in the fields of Cloud Computing, Information Security, Machine Learning and Data Analysis. Besides Amazon, Cognizant, Conduent, CRF Health, Almaviva, HCL, Basware, HCL, Basware, Accenture, E.ON, Harte Hanks are the major occupiers in the city. The office stock stands at 205,000 sqm, with a vacancy of 8% and a prime rent of 15 EUR, as indicates data from CBRE.
The modern retail stock reached 156,100 sqm, while the retail stock density (SQM/1,000 inhabitants) reached the level of 410. The city’s major retail schemes are Palas Mall (57,000 sqm) and Iulius Mall (25,000 sqm), both from the portfolio of Iulius Group and Mall Moldova (41,000 sqm) in the portfolio of Prime Kapital.
The logistic potential of Iasi is still untapped, considering the less developed infrastructure in the area and the city`s access to the Eastern routes of the country, which is less appealing for the institutional investors. Yet, several investors have started to show interest in the region in the recent years, most notably retailer Kaufland that works at its 3rd national logistic center in Miroslava.
