According to the new report published by Newmark Polska, key themes defining the Warsaw office market in the first half of 2023 included waiting for new office completions and adjusting occupied space to widely popular hybrid working models. Despite new supply constraints and relatively muted development activity, the city’s vacancy rate edged down marginally in the second quarter of this year. Leasing activity reached a similar level to that of the first three months of 2023.

Office leasing in Bucharest totaled 128,915 sqm in the second quarter of 2023, up 48% compared to the same period of last year, driven by large deals closed by retail, financial and technology firms, according to a report by Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member of BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance. 

At the end of Q2 2023, the office market vacancy rate in Warsaw reached 11.4% (down 0.2 pps compared to the previous quarter and decreased by 0.5 pps in relation to the comparable period in 2022). The Polish Chamber of Commercial Real Estate (PINK) has published figures on the office market in Warsaw for Q2 2023.

HIH Invest Real Estate has appointed real estate advisory firm Savills as the sole letting agent for vacant office space in Sagittarius Business House, located in Wrocław, Poland.

IWG, the world’s largest provider of hybrid working solutions with brands including Spaces, Regus, HQ and Signature, is expanding its Hungarian portfolio with four new openings, adding a total area of 5,944 sqm to its footprint. The openings are being delivered in partnerships with different locations that have chosen the IWG flexible workspace platform and have entered into a management agreement with the Regus and HQ brands.

The office leasing activity in Bucharest was up 12% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022, with volumes reaching 169,000 sqm, according to a Crosspoint Real Estate report.  

More than three-quarters (76%) of office stock across Europe will be at risk of obsolescence by 2030 according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield. One of the reasons is the increased level of legislative action around sustainability requiring investors to modernise real estate to ensure ESG compliance. To take one example, commercial property landlords are required in a growing number of cities across North America and Europe to install green roofs that help increase urban biodiversity, optimise energy costs and improve the user experience.

Warsaw’s Skyliner office building has extended its contract which guarantees 100% of electricity from renewable energy sources until 2026. The supplier is the E.ON Group.

MBH Bank, a newly established Hungarian player in the local financial market, will launch a huge development project aiming to build its new headquarters in the most important office destination. The handover of the first phase is scheduled for Q1 2026.

"We have recently come across Steelcase's recent survey of 58,000 individuals from 11 countries, which has uncovered intriguing insights into what it will take to entice employees back to the office. The findings, both expected and surprising, shed light on the importance of selling rather than imposing a return to the workplace in the current competitive labour market," writes Darren Allen, Director at Genesis Property, for Property Forum.