Disruptions from the pandemic are poised to continue, according to the Prologis Logistics Rent Index. Lockdowns and other COVID-19-related situations may constrain customers’ operations, though the volatility is expected to be less severe than in 2020 as many customers now have better supply chain visibility.

Anna Duchnowska, Head of Asset Management Europe at Invesco Real Estate talked to Property Forum about investing in property in the times of pandemic, the new segmentation of the real estate market and likely changes in financing conditions.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. These declines follow a strong rebound in the third quarter of 2020 (+12.4% in the euro area and +11.5% in the EU) and the sharpest decreases since the time series started in 1995 observed in the second quarter of 2020 (-11.7% in the euro area and -11.4% in the EU). According to the first estimation of annual growth for 2020, based on seasonally and calendar adjusted quarterly data, GDP fell by 6.8% in the euro area and 6.4% in the EU.

Budapest’s office market hasn’t collapsed but it has undergone a significant transformation over the past 12 months, and now the new normal has to be redefined, Valter Kalaus, Managing Director of consulting firm VLK Cresa explains.

After the great year in 2019 and a very good start to 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has halted the expansion of Asian investment funds in Poland. However, analysts are convinced that it is just a temporary situation and a new transaction closed this month also suggests that the flow of Asian capital has not dried up.

The key pandemic-related trends on the Polish office market of 2020 include the transformation of the way work we work and where we work. This prompted many occupiers to redefine their needs regarding the size of the office and the way the office is arranged. Equally important was ensuring workplace safety, also through new technological solutions. As a result of the pandemic and the lockdown measures, both development and leasing activity decreased slightly last year. Demand came mostly from new contracts and renewals. The AXI IMMO advisory firm summarises market conditions in 2020 and explores current office space trends in Poland.

In 2020, total warehouse take-up hit close to 5 million sqm for the first time in history, representing a 24% increase year-on-year. New leases and expansions accounted for nearly 70% of that total, equating to approximately 3.45 million sqm. Cushman & Wakefield has summarised 2020 on the Polish industrial market.

In 2020, office take-up hit its lowest level in ten years amid pandemic headwinds despite the largest-ever single lease contract signed to date and one of the highest volumes of new office space coming onto the Warsaw market on record, says real estate advisory firm Savills. Rents remained resilient and the overall vacancy rate is still below the levels last seen during the previous supply peak five years ago.

Any investor who observes the real estate market right now is likely to start with warehouse assets. This trend has already been visible, but the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated it to an astonishing degree, says Robert Dobrzycki, Chief Executive Officer of Panattoni who talked to Property Forum about the driving forces behind the growth of the warehouse market.

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.