During the third quarter, three new office buildings were completed with a total area of 39,570 sqm – reports JLL in their latest Budapest Office Market Pulse. The increasing development activity has had an effect on the vacancy rate as well: the Budapest office market’s vacancy rate made a slight increase to 10.9% as a result of the vacant space in the newly completed buildings and in the buildings from where the tenants moved out.

CTP is nearing completion of phase I of a new 25,000 sqm production facility which is being constructed for a new client, UK-based Stow, one of the leading suppliers of added-value warehouse racking and storage systems. The company's core activity is the development and manufacturing of racking systems for the storage of palletised or small goods and longer items, as well as mezzanine structures. 

Prologis has signed a new lease agreement for 13,800 square metres and will deliver two new facilities totalling 21,000 square metres at Prologis Park Budapest-Sziget for Waberer’s. The transactions with new customer Waberer’s include 13,800 square metres at DC7A, a 21,500 square metre speculative facility that is now fully let two months after completion and 21,000 square metres at DC7B and DC8 to be developed to the customer’s specifications and scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2017. 

Goodman Group, an owner, developer and manager of industrial real estate, has opened the 22,200 sqm expansion of its Gyál Logistics Centre. One unit is already pre-leased and the remaining two units are available for immediate lease. The total leasable area has nearly doubled to 44,735 sqm.  

HB Reavis has officially opened the Czech Republic’s first Aupark in Hradec Kralove. The 21,000 sqm shopping centre brings 120 stores, new international brands, a large food court and various service and entertainment units to the city.

The foundation stone for the new Magyar Telekom Headquarters has been laid in Budapest on 15 November. The 58,000 sqm office building is expected to be completed in the second half of 2015 and will be leased by Magyar Telekom for at least 15 years. Upon completion it will become the largest single-block office building in Hungary.

Construction of the first of two West Station office buildings, located in the immediate vicinity of the new Warszawa Zachodnia railway station, has completed. The complex, seen from both Jerozolimskie Ave. and all passing trains, will soon welcome its first occupiers. Its developer, international real estate company HB Reavis, signed a loan contract to refinance the project.

The Budapest commercial property market has seen a real turnaround over the past two years. Demand is evidently strong for quality office and logistic space in many parts of the Hungarian capital, including its airport. Budapest Airport has an area larger than London Heathrow and ambitious long-term plans that aim to attract a wide range of companies, including cargo and logistics operators. René Droese and Réka Sebestyén, responsible for the property business of BUD, talked to us about the airport’s development plans.  

V17, a new office building located at the beginning of the Váci corridor in Budapest has officially opened. The seven-storey sustainable building offers nearly 13,000 square meters Class A office space, most of which is let to E.ON Hungary Zrt. for long term. V17 is owned by Torony Ingatlan Befektetési Alap represented by Diófa Alapkezelő Zrt., and was developed by Hungarian commercial real estate developer WING Zrt. Building V17 required a HUF10 billion investment.

Prologis has started construction of a speculative facility totalling 9,200 square metres at Prologis Park Szczecin. The building is 60 percent pre-let to an international furniture company, which will occupy a total of 19,600 square metres in the park, including space in the new development. The building is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2017.