The HOP office project in Warsaw has been awarded the WELL Health – Safety Rating by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) following a complex review that covered a range of health-related factors including air and water quality.

Barbara Topolska, Country Manager for Poland at CPI Property Group has talked to Property Forum about the acquisition of Immofinanz, ESG contributions and the current financing conditions.

Czech real estate fund Investika's latest acquisition is the Royal Trakt Offices building in Warsaw. The roughly 150-year-old property in the centre of the capital city was bought by the fund from global real estate investor Patrizia SE. The acquisition was announced to Property Forum by Linklaters, the law firm that advised the real estate fund Investika during the acquisition. No further details of the transaction have been disclosed yet.

Despite a supply gap and a low level of new completions (18,700 sqm in H1), there is a lot of optimism in the capital’s office market. Over 230,000 sqm is scheduled to be delivered in the next three years, which will significantly increase the amount of office space available to let. On the demand side meanwhile, we observe a relatively high occupier demand, whereby 2/3 of all agreements signed in H1 were new leases. AXI IMMO presents market data for the first half of 2023.

The floor area of newly completed office buildings in the Czech Republic fell by 20 percent last year. This year, we can expect a renewed increase, but this will be driven only by previously completed projects, with virtually no new office buildings being built this year, according to an analysis by facility management company ISS Czech Republic.

Rebounding industrial production and easing inflation are helping the Slovak economy to avoid recession. In the industrial market, it is visible robust construction growth and demand surge. The office sector is resilient but vacant subleased spaces are increasing, while the rental rates are stable amid yield increases. Nevertheless, Slovakia's retail sector is facing challenging dynamics as market limitations amplify alongside a cautious expansion trend, largely due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Cushman & Wakefield reports in its Marketbeat Analysis for Q2 2023.

The mixed-use property development Liberty by Hungarian developer Wing has reached a major milestone. The office area in the south wing has received its use permit, and the first tenants have already moved in. At the same time, a sports store is now open on the ground floor.

According to a report published by Newmark Polska, occupier activity in Poland’s regional city office markets remains stable, but tenants are increasingly shifting their focus towards making efficient use of office space and looking for better quality offices.

The retail sector has been leading the investment activity in the first half of 2023 across CEE, having a share of 35% of the total volume of transactions that reached around €2.02 billion, according to a Colliers report.

There are more and more vacant office spaces on the regional markets in Poland. In Warsaw, despite the decline in demand, the availability of offices is getting smaller, says Walter Herz.