The office markets of Central European capitals are growing dynamically: the number of new leases is on the rise, vacancy rates have hit record lows in several cities and demand for large office space is also growing. In light of all this it is no surprise that development activity is also heating up on the most popular markets of the region. We asked three major office developers to tell us which city in the region offers the most attractive development opportunities, how tenants’ requirements are changing and what makes Central European capitals different.

In H1 2017, the Wrocław office market recorded demand totalling nearly 92,000 sqm, mostly as a consequence of the high level of activity among tenants from the business services sector. JLL summarised the first half of 2017 on Wrocław's office market.

JSE listed Echo Polska Properties (EPP) released its interim results for the six-month period ended June 2017. During the period EPP successfully concluded €262 million in acquisitions, boosting the portfolio to €1.7 billion.

The Nowy Świat 2.0 office building in Warsaw has been recognized with an LEED Gold ecological certificate. Experts from JLL supported investor Centrum Bankowo-Finansowe “Nowy Świat” S.A. in obtaining the certificate.

Free office space is dwindling in the Czech Republic. The office vacancy rate in Brno, as well as in Prague, has slipped below 10%. Both cities experience the lowest rate of vacant offices in the last decade. Brno recorded a sharp decline by 2.4 percentage points in H1 2017, while in the capital demand totalled 153,500 sqm in Q2 2017, up 45% on the previous quarter and 36.9% year-on-year. Overall, more than 370 deals were closed in Prague in H1 2017, many of which were pre-leases. In contrast, in Brno there was an 8% drop in lettings compared to H2 2016.

Colliers International strengthens its office spaces consultancy team by hiring Sebastian Dragomir for the position of Office Advisory Director. Sebastian Dragomir has over 12 years of experience in real estate, time during which he has worked on the office, industrial, land and landlord representation segments and formerly occupied the position of Senior Leasing Manager at Immofinanz Romania.

Cushman & Wakefield was appointed manager of 18 commercial properties in Poland owned by German Deka Immobilien. The properties comprise 473,363 sqm.

Skanska has acquired the Key office project in Prague’s Pankrác district from ČSAD Praha Holding for an undisclosed sum. The developer plans to start construction works before year-end.

Helaba, Berlin Hyp and pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank have jointly underwritten an investment facility totaling €370 million to refinance the Warsaw Spire Office complex. The assets are owned by the newly established Ghelamco European Property Fund. The transaction closed in August 2017. Helaba, Berlin Hyp and pbb are acting as joint lead arrangers providing equal portions of the funding, with Helaba acting as facility and security agent of the transaction.

Atenor has acquired 19,000 sqm of land on Hungária körút, one of the main road corridors in Budapest. The site provides an opportunity to build a campus of 4 office buildings with commercial spaces covering approximately 85,500 sqm, which will be developed in different phases. Permit application for the first building is set to be submitted by the end of the year, allowing construction to begin in 2018.