Polish office market thrives

According to an analysis carried out by JLL, the polish office market should grow by 990,000 m² in 2016. In Q1 2016 total stock in the country reached around 8.3 million m² and 218,000 m² of new office space was delivered to the market. Warsaw accounted for 113,000 m² of the total amount of new office space with 6 new schemes completed. There is currently around 1.5 million m² of office space under development throughout the country. In Warsaw more than 50 projects (662,000 m²) are being developed, however it is not the only city worth mentioning as developer activity in Krakow is at it‘s highest point with over 280,000 m² under construction. According to Anna Młyniec, Head of Office Agency and Tenant Representation at JLL, the modern business services sector remains a "key office tenant on major Polish regional markets" and has accounted for the majority of office take-up. Vacancy rates in Warsaw have increased slightly to 14.1% following the ongoing upward trend which started in 2008. The lowest vacancy rate (5.7%) was registered in Krakow. Prime headline rents in Warsaw have been falling since Q2 2013 and are now at 23.5 Euro/m²/month in the city centre. The lowest rents are recorded in Lublin while the highest are in Poznan. According to an overview provided by CBRE Research, Warsaw‘s office stock could exceed 5 million m² in the following quarters reaching a market size similar to Amsterdam or Copenhagen.