According to a report published by Newmark Polska, during the first three months of 2023, occupier demand on Poland’s regional city office markets remained strong amid increasing office availability and a further drop of development activity. The markets continue to adapt to the new standard created by the rise of the hybrid working model and the growing focus on flexibility in office layouts and uses.

In the first quarter of 2023, developers focused on regional markets in Poland. Kraków, Wrocław, and Tri-City have been enriched with new office spaces. Meanwhile, no new office buildings were built in Warsaw. Current interest from tenants remains at a fairly high level. Demand recorded in Q1 2023 was distributed proportionally to the Warsaw market and regional cities. Tenants attach importance to ESG issues and the comfort of working from the office for their employees. The challenge facing the office sector is rising service charges. AXI IMMO presents data summarizing Q1 2023 on the office market.

CA Immo has successfully signed and closed the sale of the Vizivaros Office Center in Budapest. The building is located in the Central Buda office submarket in the western part of Budapest, comprises around 14,200 sqm of total lettable space and was 96% let with annualized gross rental income of around €2.5 million as of 31 December 2022. The buyer is the FLE SICAV FIS real estate fund managed by FLE GmbH.

The first phase of Futureal’s Corvin Innovation Campus was built as the extension of Corvin Promenade and is home to IBM Hungary's new head office. The global technology company has already moved into the building equipped with almost completely contactless solutions.

The office vacancy rate increased to 12.2%, representing a 0.9 pps increase quarter-on-quarter and a 2.4 pps increase year-on-year. Total demand reached 76,660 sqm, which is 24% lower than the value registered in the previous quarter, Budapest Research Forum reports.

New demand for offices in Bucharest fell by almost half in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period of last year, while total demand also declined by about 25%, according to data from real estate consultancy Colliers. 

The Prague office market has experienced a decline in the construction of new office buildings over the last three quarters which has also been reflected in a decline in speculative construction. Whereas a year ago almost 80% of offices under construction did not have a secure tenant, this share has now fallen to 52%. Tenants were looking for office space in established office locations in the vicinity of Karlín in Prague 8 and Pankrác in Prague 4 in the first quarter. A quarterly analysis by international consultancy JLL shows that 7.5% of modern office space in Prague is currently vacant, which corresponds to 289,100 sqm of space. However, the supply of so-called subleases, which are not included in the official vacancy register, is also growing. According to JLL's latest analysis, there could be around 80,000 sqm of sublease space.

International Workplace Group has announced two new locations in Sofia. This brings their portfolio to fifth workspaces in the capital, seven in Bulgaria. One of the locations is at the European Trade Center and the other is the Regus Labirint Center in the Lyulin district

Romanian developer Iulius has inaugurated Palas Campus, the biggest office building in Romania with a total leasable area of 60,000 sqm, of which 54,000 sqm are offices and the rest retail premises. The project was completed in three years following an investment of more than €120 million. 

According to a new report published by Newmark Polska, the first three months of 2023 saw no new office completions in Warsaw as occupier activity weakened and the capital’s vacancy rate remained flat compared to the previous quarter. Developers are, however, commencing or planning new office projects in the city.