Excellent H1 2015 on Poland's industrial market - JLL

The vacancy rates on the Polish market are lowest since 2007. “In the first half of 2015 gross demand for warehouse space hit 1,17 million sqm, with 781,000 sqm being new contracts. Strong results in H1 as well as continued interest from tenants allows us to assume that 2015 is in with a chance of being another record-breaking year for the Polish market and exceed 2014's excellent performance. Tenant demand has been matched by the immediate response from developers. Over 437,000 sqm of new industrial space was delivered within the first six months of 2015. An additional 672,000 sqm is currently under construction across Poland, 23 percentof which is being built on a speculative basis, without binding lease agreements," said Tomasz Mika, Head of Industrial Poland, JLL. The highest net take up in H1 was recorded in Central Poland (20 percent), followed by Upper Silesia (15 percent), Poznań (14 percent) and Warsaw Suburbs (13 percent). The highest demand comes from logistics operators, who secured 229,000 sq m of new lease agreements (corresponding to the 29 percent share in the net take up), followed by retailers (26 percent) and the automotive sector (9 percent). The highest rents are typically a feature of Poland's urban markets. The most characteristic industrial format to be found in these locations are referred to as SBU (Small Business Units), projects which combine an office function with a small industrial (warehouse or production) component. Effective rents in these locations are €4.8 per sqm/ month in Warsaw, €3.8 per sqm/ month in Wrocław and €3.7 per sqm/ month in Łódź.