Warehouse market deeply ambivalent: experts

The first quarter of 2020 on the warehouse space market ended with good results on both the demand and supply sides. Total market resources exceeded 19 million sqm, according to the report of the international consulting company Cushman & Wakefield.

The total volume of lease transactions reached 956,000 sqm, which is the second highest demand result in the history of the Polish market recorded in the first three months of the year. The new contracts and expansions accounted for 82 percent of total demand, which also proves the very good condition of the market.

“Still, the current situation is complicated for everyone, both tenants and property owners. It is worth emphasizing, however, that most of them try to treat current reality as a challenge and adapt to the new situation. Thus, the warehouse market is doing quite well, especially when compared to other commercial real estate segments,” Joanna Sinkiewicz, Partner, Head of Industrial & Logistics, Cushman & Wakefield, said.

The overall picture is rather complex. There are sectors where tenants face huge business handicaps and fight to maintain liquidity. The dynamically developing automotive sector in Poland is struggling with suspended or significantly limited production processes and reduced demand, which in turn leads to postponed investment decisions. 

“Some tenants report moderate declines or replace less profitable business activities with those that work better in the current situation. There are also companies that are growing and developing with much greater dynamics than ever before, which is mainly due to the accelerated development of sales in the e-commerce channel,” Sinkiewicz added.

(WBJ)