Banks and investors should write down some EUR 7 bn on their Dutch office assets to return the sector to health, according to a public-private taskforce set up to tackle the high office vacancy levels which now stand at almost 15% nationwide. The group, comprising investors, developers and local government authorities, warns that the Netherlands risks 'major social damage' if action is not taken.

Earlier this year, the Dutch central bank warned that the crisis in the office sector posed a real threat to the country's financial system. From 2012, regulatory watchdog AFM wants Dutch property companies to specify in their annual reports how much they give away in terms of rental discounts in order to determine the real value of their assets.

A recent report by CB Richard Ellis revealed that vacancy levels in Amsterdam's Zuidas business district have almost halved in the last two years to 11%, well below the average for the Amsterdam area as a whole which currently stands at 17%. This compares with a vacancy rate of 19% for the Zuidas district in the first quarter of 2009, according to the report The South Axis, An Insider's View.

CBRE expects the vacancy rate to fall even further, possibly to 5-6% if market demand remains stable. The construction of new offices will slow down due to restrictive local planning policies, with only major, preleased developments going ahead and even their future is uncertain due to difficulties in obtaining financing, CBRE said. This means that the office supply will remain virtually unchanged next year, benefitting owners of existing buildings.

More than half the tenants in the district are financial services (26%) and business services (36%) companies, with law firms accounting for the biggest share at 25%.