More than 50% of the industrial and logistics projects under construction in Romania are already pre-leased with leasing activity in Q1 2021 rising by 50% to over 300,000 sqm compared to the same quarter of 2021, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Retail and e-commerce companies have been the most active, with 35% of the total leased space, followed by logistics and distribution and automotive with shares of 15% and 10% respectively.
Bucharest had a share of 35% of the total demand, 29% of the leased area being in projects based in Ploiești, 8.3% in Slatina and 8% in Arad.
In terms of new supply, Q1 was marked by a significant increase, supported both by the positive evolution of demand, and by the higher temperatures during the winter. Therefore, almost 180,000 sqm of new spaces were delivered in Q1, a significant increase compared with Q1 2021 when only 30,000 sqm were completed.
“The industrial and logistics market is going through its best period in history despite the complicated economic, socialand geopolitical context. Transformations in retail, the development of e-commerce, the concern for the expansion and diversification of locations, but also the risk reduction related to the disruption of distribution chains are the main drivers of demand in Romania, but also in the Central and Eastern Europe,” said Andrei Brînzea, partner Land & Industrial Agency at C&W Echinox.
The vacancy rate in the market stood at 3.8% in Q1, while in Bucharest it reached 4.7%.
Around 500,000 sqm of new industrial space are under development at present, with half of the surface in Bucharest and the rest in regional markets such as Timișoara, Brașov, Arad and Sibiu.
