Demand for Warsaw offices as before the pandemic

Warsaw offices are spreading like before the pandemic. In 2022, demand totaled 860,000 sqm, 33 percent more than a year earlier and almost the same as in record 2019. Supply, on the other hand, is at its lowest level in a decade. Last year, 236,800 sqm of space was delivered to the market, and 179,700 sqm remains under construction, according to CBRE data. The emerging imbalance between supply and demand in the market is causing rents to go up, but this is an opportunity for B-class buildings, which have a significant vacancy rate. Overall, the capital's office vacancy rate is 11.6 percent.

"There is rather little doubt that the low activity of developers in the Warsaw market will lead to a supply gap. On the other hand, it is currently still difficult to assess whether we will be at a point of equilibrium or scarcity in some time. Last year's demand and rising rental rates rather point to a shortage, but one must also take into account that companies are now in the process of solidifying their labor strategies in the new hybrid reality. We already know that employers are scrambling to get employees back into offices, but it will be some time before companies can assess what the final turnout is. What is certain is that the role of the office is evolving," Katarzyna Gajewska, director of the consulting and market research department at CBRE, said.

(WBJ)