Warsaw office vacancy rates above 13%

Office vacancy rates in Warsaw have increased in the second quarter of the year to reach 13.4 percent at the end of June, up from 11.7 percent at the end of Q1 2014, according to a report by Warsaw Research Forum, an association of commercial real estate advisory firms. Vacancy rates remain higher in the city center (13.6 percent) than in non-central areas (13.3 percent). In the first half of 2014, 190,300 sqm of office space was added to the capital’s market, 76 percent of which located outside the city center. In Q2 alone, 105,900 sqm of office stock was delivered to the market. Major developments completed in H1 2014 include the first phase of Gdański Business Center, offering 44,500 sqm of office space at the northern edge of the city center, Eurocentrum Office Complex (38,700 sqm) in south-western Warsaw and the first stage of Park Rozwoju (16,000 sqm). Demand remained at similar level as in Q1 2014, with 130,800 sqm of space leased between April and June of the year. As many as 76 percent of lease transactions volume was recorded outside the city center: Upper South (95,900 sqm). South-Western (51,700 sqm) and City Center Fringe (41,200 sqm). New leases accounted for 53 percent of all transactions, renegotiations and extensions – for 36.6 percent, while pre-let deals stood for a mere 6.7 percent of all demand.