Choosing the best office broker in Amsterdam: here's how

This article is written by YourSpace, a commercial real estate agency in Amsterdam. We share our knowledge of office space, rental prices and the Amsterdam office market to help tenants and landlords make informed decisions.

YourSpace explains the rental prices in this article. Check the source, measurement date and price basis alongside each figure: a monthly price for a whole office is not a price per desk. Historical market figures are not a current quote.

Choosing an office in Amsterdam can quickly feel like a job on top of your day job. You want a good space fast, but you have no time to comb through the whole market.

This guide explains what an office broker in Amsterdam does and how to spot the best one for your team. You'll also read what it costs, how the Amsterdam market works, which city districts fit and which questions to ask before you sign.

What does an office broker in Amsterdam do?

An office broker helps you find, compare, negotiate and secure office space. If you search yourself, you go from operator to operator and never see the whole market. YourSpace has more than 180,000 m² of serviced office space in its database and uses it to compare prices across the whole market.

The best office broker is on your side and fits your search brief. That person knows the current supply and prices, and narrows the options down to a tight shortlist.

That overview matters, because supply changes weekly and a lot of space is not listed online. The broker filters that supply on what your team needs now and where it is heading.

Who does the broker represent?

Every deal has two sides. A landlord's broker works for the building owner and wants to let the space on the best terms. A tenant-side broker represents you as the tenant, as YourSpace does with tenant representation.

Who pays the broker depends on where you search. Within the serviced and managed network you pay nothing, because the operator or landlord pays on placement.

Beyond it, you sign an exclusive agreement, with a fee partly linked to the savings achieved. A lower rent therefore also counts towards the broker's result. Either way, ask upfront who the broker represents in your search.

Why an Amsterdam specialist makes the difference

Amsterdam is the most expensive office market in the Netherlands, so a misstep costs more here than elsewhere. According to the province of Zuid-Holland, prime rents in Amsterdam are around €600 per m² per year. According to the same trend report, Utrecht (€330), Rotterdam (€330), The Hague (€260) and Eindhoven (€255) follow.

A specialist who follows this market daily also knows the supply that isn't on the portals. YourSpace has more than 175 offices in its portfolio, mainly in Amsterdam and also in Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague and other Dutch cities. If your team grows across the border, there are also locations in London, Berlin, Brussels and Frankfurt, among others.

The Amsterdam office market at a glance (2025–2026)

The market is picking up, though not equally fast everywhere. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the national office market in 2024 took up around 930,000 m² of office space, almost a fifth (+19%) more than the year before. According to Cushman & Wakefield, national vacancy fell to its lowest level in 25 years: 7.9%.

At the same time, the picture differs by city. According to CBRE, vacancy in Amsterdam, along with Arnhem, Amersfoort and Tilburg, is above the frictional level of 6%.

Cushman & Wakefield sees Amsterdam vacancy rising from 6.9% in 2023 to 9.3% in 2024, above the national average. That rise comes from new supply, such as The Pulse: a 36,000 m² office building completed at the end of 2024.

The result is a two-speed market. New, high-quality space in prime locations is scarce and expensive, while older or secondary buildings are more widely available. Good advice helps you keep those two worlds apart.

How hybrid working changes your search

Since teams started working hybrid, demand for space has changed. Many companies look more critically at how many square metres they really use and how much flexibility they want in their contract.

Partly as a result, serviced and managed offices have grown. You can read more about this link in our analysis of hybrid working and office real estate. A good office broker matches your contract term to how your team really works.

What to look for when choosing an office broker

Not every office broker fits your search brief. Look at a few concrete points when you choose.

• The broker makes clear upfront who they represent in your search.
• The broker knows the current supply, including space that isn't online.
• The broker has supported teams of your size before.
• You know upfront who pays the adviser and why.
• The same adviser supports you from search brief to keys.
• The broker knows which neighbourhood fits your budget and accessibility needs.

Questions to ask before you sign

A good conversation clarifies a lot. Ask these questions before you sign an agreement or a contract:

• Who exactly do you work for, me as the tenant or the landlord?
• How are you paid, and are there any costs for me?
• Do you work on an exclusive basis, and what does that involve?
• Do you have access to off-market space that isn't on the portals?
• Do you also support the viewing and the negotiation?
• Do you have experience with teams like ours in size and stage?

What does an office broker cost? How the fee works

The fee doesn't have to be a surprise. In practice, YourSpace uses two models, depending on your search brief.

Within the serviced and managed network you pay nothing: the operator or landlord pays a lead fee on placement. If you search beyond it, you sign an exclusive service agreement. On a successful lease, the fee set out in that agreement applies.

Other office brokers work with other models, so ask for the fee in writing before you sign. Our guide explains exactly how an office broker gets paid.

More than just the base rent

Your total accommodation costs are more than the base rent. Add the service charges and subtract incentives, such as rent-free months or a fit-out contribution. Commercial rent is calculated on the lettable floor area (VVO).

You can see how those costs work out for traditional and serviced space in our analysis of the real cost of office space.

Watch the lease terms and duration

Office space falls under a flexible legal regime, in which the parties agree many terms themselves. Baker McKenzie's overview of rent indexation and lease terms shows that rent is often indexed to the CPI of Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Watch the duration too. For office space, tenant and landlord are in principle free to agree the lease term. According to the commercial lease rules of the Chamber of Commerce (KVK), tenants are protected against eviction and can ask the court for an extension.

An office broker flags points like these before you sign.

Which city district should you search in (and what does it cost)?

The neighbourhood determines much of your price and your accessibility. Amsterdam has expensive prime locations and districts where the same budget gets you more space.

Zuidas and Amsterdam Zuid: the premium segment

The Zuidas is the city's top business segment, with an international profile and scarce new space. According to trade journal Vastgoed Journaal, prime rent on the Zuidas is above €650 per m² per year (2025), against €625 per m² in 2024. According to YourSpace figures, the average price per workspace in Amsterdam Zuid is around €542.

If you want to be based here, an office broker helps with off-market and pre-let options. Take a look, for example, at renting an office in Amsterdam Zuid. A concrete example is this serviced office on the Zuidas.

Zuidoost, Oost and Noord: more space for your budget

Where the Zuidas is the most expensive segment, here you get more space for your budget, often with good accessibility. For office space in Amsterdam Zuidoost, the average price per workspace at YourSpace is around €318.

According to YourSpace figures, Amsterdam Oost averages around €411 per workspace. For affordable offices in Noord, expect around €338 per workspace on average at YourSpace, in a district with an industrial and creative character.

Serviced, managed, coworking or conventional: which suits your team?

The type of office determines how much you arrange yourself and how flexible you are. There are four options.

A serviced office is ready to move into: furnishing and services are in one monthly rate, with a short contract. One example is this serviced office on the Keizersgracht.

A managed office goes a step further: it is fitted out to your team's wishes, with management by the operator. ScaleHub Offices for scale-ups is an example.

Coworking is a shared workspace, useful if you start small or want to scale up and down quickly. Take a look, for example, at Young Workspaces on the Kerkstraat.

You rent a conventional office as a shell and fit it out yourself, with a longer term. That suits teams looking for stability that want to stand out with a place of their own.

How the search process with an office broker works

The process is simpler than it looks. First you share your search brief: team size, budget, preferred start date and term.

Next you receive a targeted shortlist, including space that isn't online. You view the options and compare them on price, term, service charges and conditions.

Your adviser then negotiates the rent and terms until you sign. The same adviser supports you from the first search brief to the keys. A tenant search ideally takes four weeks to four months, though we cannot guarantee that timeframe.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a tenant-side office broker and a landlord's broker?

A tenant-side office broker represents you as the tenant and looks after your interests in the search and the negotiation. A landlord's broker works for the building owner.

What does an office broker in Amsterdam cost?

Within YourSpace's serviced and managed network you pay nothing: the operator or landlord pays a lead fee on placement. If you search beyond it, you sign an exclusive service agreement. On a successful lease, the fee set out in that agreement applies.

How high are office rents in Amsterdam?

According to the province of Zuid-Holland, Amsterdam is the most expensive office market in the Netherlands, with prime rents around €600 per m² per year. By comparison, prime rent in Utrecht and Rotterdam is around €330 per m² per year.

How long does it take to find and rent an office?

That depends on your requirements and start date, and on how quickly suitable space becomes available. A tenant search ideally takes four weeks to four months, though we cannot guarantee that timeframe.

Can an office broker help negotiate the rent?

Yes, that is a core part of the job. A broker negotiates the rent, the term, the service charges and incentives such as rent-free months.

Ready to search? Here's how to take the first step

The best office broker in Amsterdam is the specialist who is on your side and fits your search brief. That person knows the supply and prices per district, and flags the terms that could cost you money later.

Start with your search brief: how many workspaces, what budget, which start date and what term. Share it with an office broker and let the market work for you.

Knowledge that sticks →