More than half of the 1.24 million sqm of office space leased in 2021 was located in Warsaw. Renegotiations accounted for nearly 45% of the total transaction volume.  However, the main regional cities now account for three times more square metreage under construction than the capital city.

Development margins in Poland have been under pressure in recent years which is taking effect in a smaller number of projects under construction with planned occupancy dates in 2022 and 2023. Property Forum talked to Mariusz Frąckiewicz, Country Director at Avestus Real Estate Poland about the post-Covid office market in Poland, the impact of inflation and surging land prices.

Colliers published a survey of the Czech commercial real estate investment market for Q4 2021. It shows that the volume of investments fell for the second year in a row in 2021, although sales were 8 percent higher year-on-year in the last quarter. The largest investment in Q4 was the sale of the Generali headquarters in Prague with an area of 36,000 sqm.

A fund managed by the Real Estate Group of Ares Management Corporation and local partner Portland Trust have sold the Coral Office Park in Prague to Mint Investments. Four independent office buildings totalling almost 35,300 sqm in Prague 5 were sold for an undisclosed price.

Experts from the consulting company BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland summed up the final quarter of 2021, regarding office space in Warsaw. The market closed the year with 325,000 sqm of new modern space, but vacancy rate are increasing, and an escalation in contract renewals is agitating the situation within the demand structure. Therefore "flexibility" has turned out to be the most important word for all market players. The authors underline that the situation in 2022 will be comparable.

The Lakeside office building in Warsaw's Mokotów district has been granted a building permit. Construction is already underway.

Karol Pilniewicz, Chief Investment Officer of Futureal Investment Partners talked to Property Forum about entering the investment market, the condition of the retail sector after two years of pandemic restrictions and current financing conditions.

Last year the number of new green buildings and the "greening" of existing ones continued to grow dynamically in Budapest, Colliers reports.

Supersam, a mixed-use destination in Katowice which includes a shopping centre and office buildings, is undergoing a transformation. It will soon feature more office space as well as a new restaurant section. The Konior Studio led by Silesian architect Tomasz Konior is responsible for the redevelopment project. The work should be completed in Q4 2022.

While in H2 2021, gross take-up on the Brno office market reached 38,100 sqm, which represents a 57% increase in comparison to H1 2021 and a 50% increase y-o-y, Ostrava office market gross take-up in the same time reached 1,600 sqm, representing a drop of 91% compared to H1 2021 and staying stable in a y-o-y comparison. The Regional Research Forum announced the Brno and Ostrava office market figures for H2 2021.