The coronavirus pandemic has had a relatively benign effect on the Q1 2020 Warsaw office market figures, according to the latest Savills research. However, tenants already started to optimize costs which soon may increase the number of lease renewals and subleases. Companies will look for more flexible lease terms and cost-effective locations.

During the first three months of 2020, demand on the Warsaw office market was nearly 139,000 sqm, which almost matched the Q1 performance of last year. The vacancy rate fell by 0.3 pps, while 770,000 sqm is under construction. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in Q1 2020.

The Polish Commercial Real Estate Chamber (PINK) is hereby publishing figures on the office market in Warsaw for Q1 2020. The data is sourced from advisory companies from the commercial real estate sector (BNP Paribas Real Estate, CBRE, Colliers International, Cresa, Cushman&Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank, Savills) and includes information on modern office stock, new completions, take-up volumes and vacancy rates.

OKAM Global Commercial, a new commercial real estate company founded by residential developer OKAM Capital, has appointed Savills as property manager for its recently acquired office building at 16 Lindleya Street in Warsaw.

The state of emergency imposed by the current pandemic has led to the almost total vacancy of office spaces, within the context of many of the employees working from home. The landlords want to lower service charge levels for this period and continue to provide the necessary services to maintain the buildings in optimal conditions, according to a report by CBRE Romania.

Belgian developer Atenor completed the construction of Aréna Business Campus Building “A” in Budapest. The project, launched in spring 2018, will comprise four Class A+ environmentally conscious office buildings on 72,000 sqm on the capital’s Hungária Boulevard. The authorization of the occupancy permit for Building “A” is currently under process with the handover of the 21,000 sqm building scheduled for June. In parallel, the construction of the second, Building ”B” is in full swing and will be completed in Q2 2021.

For the first time since Q4 2018, the vacancy rate on the Budapest office market increased in Q1 2020, albeit only by 0.6 pps. Total demand in the first quarter of 2020 reached 79,660 sqm, stagnating year-on-year, according to BRF’s latest figures.

JLL and CBRE have been selected by Immobel Poland as agents responsible for the commercialization process of Central Point in Warsaw. The investment is being built on the corner of Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska Streets and above an intersection of the two metro lines of Warsaw.

At the end of 2019, the total modern office stock in Łódź amounted to 528,300 sqm with more than 90,000 sqm currently under construction. Cushman & Wakefield has summarised 2019 on Łódź’s office market.

In 2019, Lublin’s total office stock amounted to 191,200 sqm with no new office projects delivered to the market in the last 12 months. In 2017-2018, the city’s office stock expanded by nearly 40% following a period of robust local development activity. Cushman & Wakefield summarised 2019 on Lublin’s office market.