Average Warsaw office-space rents drop dramatically

The average rent for office space in Warsaw has slumped from the record $50 per square meter in the early 1990s to a modest $17, comparable to the rate in Frankfurt. Analysts of the real-estate market assert that current prices could hold firm for the next two to three years, dismissing alarm signals from some sources that prices were about to rise significantly. According to Jeroena van der Toolena, Office Floor Rent manager at DTZ Polska, the current price is both healthy and reasonable for the market. Van der Toolena adds that the astronomical rents of the '90s were in part due to the high degree of risk involved in investment in office-space construction at the time. Besides, demand far exceeded supply and gave developers the upper hand in setting galactic prices. Rent in high profile skyscrapers in downtown Warsaw such as Reform Plaza is currently $17 per square meter, and some tenants are paying as little as $10 for similar space. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3).