The office market is changing due to the coronavirus pandemic, albeit not as dramatically as initially expected. Offices as a concept are definitely not over and working from home is not becoming a lasting standard – it has been confirmed that it has its limitations and that personal contact is irreplaceable. A hybrid model, combining working in the office and at home, will likely be more common. Office space take-up is still below the pre-crisis figures, but the activity on the market has been growing recently. For the time being, the growth has not been enough to justify the growth in rental prices that would be necessary due to an increase in construction material prices, but both can be expected to grow in the future. The crisis has halted the progress of some schemes, so we will not see a major increase in new office stock before 2023. This could result in demand overhang, and thus in increased rents in the years to come, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Globe Trade Centre has launched a new app – “Welcome GTC” – to ease access to building amenities and engage tenants with a more comfortable and safer workplace experience. The app is available for tenants of GTC’s properties in Poland – Aeropark in Warsaw, Globis Poznań and University Business Park in Łódż. The end goal of GTC is to introduce “Welcome GTC” to all properties across Poland and CEE in the future.

Belgian real estate Atenor has announced that RoseVille, its Class A+ office building on Bécsi Road has been awarded the BREEAM “Excellent” sustainability rating. Construction work on RoseVille is in full swing, the building is expected to be handed over in the third quarter of 2022.

Apollo-Rida, the owner and property manager of Equal Business Park in Krakow, has appointed real estate advisory firm Savills as the sole leasing agent for office space in the complex.

Flexible office stock in Poland has increased six-fold since 2015. This diversified market perfectly meets the expectations of numerous sectors, small businesses, and corporations. As the expansion of flex operators slows, fewer and fewer offices remain available to tenants both in Warsaw and on major regional markets.

Office building Euro Tower, developed by Cascade Group in central Bucharest, has obtained the first LEED ZERO CARBON certification in Romania. 

Property developer and investor PPF Real Estate has invested close to €1 million in redesigning the ground floor of Metropolis Center, the office building that it owns in central Bucharest. 

Generation Park Y, developed by Skanska in Warsaw’s Wola district, has been awarded the LEED Core & Shell certificate at the Platinum level - an international system of building assessment for energy savings and reduction of water consumption. Consequently, it has an impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Among four countries – Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, and Hungary, more than half of respondents claimed they work only from the office (52%), according to a survey conducted by Skanska's commercial development business unit in CEE. The number of such office workers increased compared to May 2021, especially in the Czech Republic and Poland. ​The preferred work model has not changed much since then, but in the Czech Republic more people want to work only from the office (22% vs 17% in May 2021).  

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic most companies switched to remote work and reduced the demand for office space, which is reflected in Colliers “Warsaw Office Zones Guide” report’s data. Thanks to vaccinations and a reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases, in Q2 and Q3 2021 we have seen a gradual return of employees to offices and an increase in tenant activity in the Polish capital.