Over 1.3 mln sqm of office space leased in 2016 - JLL

Demand for office space in 2016 amounted to 1.34 million sqm, the second best result in Polish market history, after a record-breaking 2015, as stated in a recent report by advisory firm JLL. “This slight decrease in demand was caused mainly by a lower number of large lease deals signed by companies,” commented Mateusz Polkowski, head of Research and Consulting, JLL. Demand totalled 755,000 sqm in Warsaw, 187,800 sqm in Kraków and 124,500 sqm in Wrocław. An excellent result was also recorded by Łódź. “Interestingly, seven of the nine transactions for more than 10,000 sqm signed in Poland were for properties in regional cities. Once again demand was driven by companies from the modern business services sector, which accounted for 59 percent of all of the deals in markets outside of Warsaw,” said Karol Patynowski, director of Regional Markets, JLL. Last year, Poland's office market grew by approximately 900,000 sqm, which is the biggest increase in office stock to date. “Developers delivered 407,000 sqm of space in Warsaw; 150,000 sqm in Kraków and 141,500 sqm in Wrocław. As a result, total office stock in Poland amounted to 9 million sqm, of which Warsaw alone accounts for 5 million sqm”, commented Polkowski. According to JLL, the office market in Poland is likely to grow by an additional 800,000 sqm in 2017 provided that all of the developers’ plans are completed on schedule. “Currently, there is 1.5 million sqm of space under development in Poland. The highest activity among developers is recorded in Warsaw, where 675,000 sqm is under construction. Outside Warsaw, Kraków is the leader with 260,000 sqm under development. This indicates that in 2017, the capital city of Małopolska region will likely exceed 1 million sqm of total office stock. Other cities with high office stock volumes under construction include Tri-City with 150,400 sqm, Wrocław with 147,000 sqm and Łódź - 124,500 sqm, which also has the highest ratio (50 percent) of pre-leased space in Poland,” added Polkowski.