In Q3 2023, the Greater Budapest speculative stock increased by 140,730 sqm, adding five buildings to the stock. Five new buildings were also handed over in regional cities adding another 92,610 sqm to the stock there. The vacancy rate at the end of Q3 2023 was 10.0% in Greater Budapest, an increase of 140 basis points quarter-on-quarter and an increase of 510 basis points year-on-year, the Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.
The largest new delivery in the Budapest area was Hello Parks's Páty PT1 with 57,760 sqm of space, while the largest new delivery in Regional Hungary was in Győr by VGPark, adding 38,000 sqm to the regional stock.
The total modern industrial stock in Hungary was 5,047,330 sqm at the end of Q3. The stock in Greater Budapest reached 3,447,460 sqm, while a further 1,599,870 sqm of industrial space was located in Regional Hungary.
At the end of the quarter, a total of 345,870 sqm of logistics space was vacant in Greater Budapest, while vacant areas outside Budapest reached 89,570 sqm, corresponding to a vacancy rate of 5.6%. The national countrywide vacancy rate stands at 8.6%.
Total demand in Greater Budapest amounted to 85,162 sqm in Q3 2023, indicating a decrease of 56% year-on-year. On a year-to-date basis, total demand reached 316,950 sqm, which is a 32% decrease compared to the same period in 2022. In Q3, take-up excluding renewals reached 35,730 sqm, showing a 79% decrease compared to last quarter. Year-to-date take-up excluding renewals in 2023 has reached 174,120 sqm, representing a 49% year-on-year decrease.
In regional Hungary, the largest deal was a pre-lease agreement of 19,000 sqm at VGP Park Győr, while in Greater Budapest the largest lease agreement was a lease renewal for 15,510 sqm at CTPark Budapest ULL7. Lease renewals accounted for 58% of gross take-up, followed by new leases with a share of 32%. Expansions represented 9% of the total leasing activity, while pre-leases only reached 1% in this quarter.
In the third quarter of 2023, 21 leasing transactions were registered in Greater Budapest, with an average transaction size of 4,060 sqm – two for more than 10,000 sqm. The majority of leases continued to be concluded in big-box logistics parks, while in city-logistics parks nine agreements have been registered with an average size of 2,580 sqm. In Q3, the net absorption of Greater Budapest has turned positive and amounted to 78,590 sqm.
