The Romanian office market registered a 36% decrease in 2020 from the record level of 470,000 sqm recorded in 2019 to 300,000 sqm, JLL data shows.

At 230 metres full roof height Varso Tower is now officially the tallest building in Poland. Works continue at the top of the building where a 80-metre tall spire is to be assembled in upcoming weeks. Upon its completion, Varso Tower - developed by HB Reavis - will be the tallest building in the European Union with its architectural height of 310 metres. The construction is set to complete in Q1 2022.

Yareal closed the final agreement for the sale of the first phase the LIXA complex in Warsaw, which opened its doors to tenants in November. The price has not been disclosed. 

The changing structure of demand for offices, and the increasing amount of space aimed at subtenants, raises the question of whether the office sector in Poland is facing the imminent prospect of oversupply.

The spread of the hybrid model of working, fast-tracked digitalization of business processes, combined with increased awareness about the importance of employee well-being are the main trends that shaped the office market in Poland in 2020. An indirect effect of the Covid-19 pandemic was an increase in lease renegotiations, as well as a rise in the amount of space available on a sublet basis. AXI IMMO presents a preliminary analysis of the key trends in the Polish office market this year.

Belgian real estate developer Atenor entrusted the Budapest History Museum with the archaeological excavation of the plot of 68-84 Bécsi Road in Óbuda, on which it is implementing one of its latest projects, the 15,000 sqm RoseVille office building. The archaeological research carried out on the plot is significant as it was finally possible to examine the large, connected area of the Roman time cemetery of the military town of Aquincum.

Master Management Group (MMG) has been granted an occupancy permit for its Hi Piotrkowska complex in Łódź. In December the first tenants are gradually to start their operations from the main building. At the same time, MMG has signed further leases including with the Rossmann drugstore and the Łódź-based florist Badylarz.

Demand in the third quarter of the year picked up Zagreb’s office market compensating for the slow market activity observed in the second quarter of 2020. Cushman & Wakefield | CBS International Croatia published its Q3 2020 report for the Zagreb office market.

Managing directors believe that the conditions for doing business in the next six months will be the same or better than now. Only 9% of people fear that it will get worse. This optimism translates into the belief that employees will return to their offices in mid-2021, according to the CBRE report "The Future of the Office Survey". Currently, companies are prevented from physically returning to their office space by the high number of cases in a given country, the risk of the virus spreading through the company, and the employees’ reluctance to return.

The public sector, which employs over 3 million people in Poland, is becoming an increasingly stronger player on the office real estate market.