In 2020 the coronavirus pandemic pushed Poland into its first recession in 30 years following a GDP contraction of around 2.8%. According to Moody’s forecasts, implications of the second wave of the pandemic will reverberate through the economy also during the first quarter of 2021. The second quarter is, however, likely to see a recovery and this year’s GDP growth is expected to reach approximately 4%. Cushman & Wakefield summarised 2020 on the Warsaw office market.

Imel Group has started the construction of the Green Escape business complex in New Belgrade’s block 51, right next to the highway. The complex will comprise three plots intended for business and commercial facilities, on which the construction of multifunctional business facilities is planned. The construction of the complex started in December last year, it will be performed in three phases and the total area of ​​the planned facilities is 65,569 sqm.

Twin City Tower, an office building in Bratislava developed by HB Reavis and sold to a South Korean investor in 2019, has been awarded a WELL Core & Shell Certification at the Gold level and it’s the third-largest building in Europe to reach the standard.

Skanska invests €45 million in the second phase of the Equilibrium project in Bucharest, the company announced.

Brugnola, a joint venture of Rida Development and Mack Real Estate Group has bought the office complex from A&T Holdings for an undisclosed sum. Apollo-Rida Poland, the Polish branch of Rida Development will be the investment and property manager of the property.

JLL has been appointed as the exclusive leasing agent for Marynarska Point 2 in Warsaw. The total area of the 11-floor office building amounts to over 13,000 sqm.

The office space market in Bucharest registered a total volume of transactions of approximately 240,000 sqm in 2020, a level similar to that of 2015, CBRE data shows.

2020 was a good year for the Romanian transaction market, with a volume that approached the threshold of €1 billion. Most of the transactions concluded were for office buildings, with a volume of €784 million. Although estimates for 2021 are more modest, we can expect the sale of several important assets to go through this year. Property Forum lists the office buildings in Bucharest that could change owners in the next 12 months.

What the future holds for the office market has been one of the hottest topics of debate ever since the pandemic struck. What changes are to be expected in the office sector after the pandemic? Katarzyna Lipka, an expert of Cushman & Wakefield, outlines key trends for 2021 and beyond.

In 2020, demand for office space in regional cities was 16% lower compared to 2019, the vacancy rate increased by 3.2 pp and the volume of office space under construction is at its lowest in about five years. Advisory firm JLL summarizes the situation in the Polish office market at the end of 2020.