Warsaw’s central office district went through a transformation process in recent years following the delivery of a number of modern office developments such as Q22 or Warsaw Spire, which have already been acclaimed as unique and landmark schemes. However, in addition to modern buildings and futuristic skyscrapers, this area is also home to second-generation offices developed before 2000 and historical buildings which form an integral part of the capital city’s centre. Michał Wachowicz, Consultant, Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield analysed Warsaw’s CBD.

According to the latest analysis prepared by the Capital Markets team Cushman & Wakefield, investment volumes in Central and Eastern Europe reached nearly €13 billion in 2017. All CEE countries grew at a similar rate and maintained their share of the overall regional volume. Despite political risk perceptions, Poland grew most rapidly at 9% y-o-y from approx. €4.6 billion to €5 billion, which was the highest result recorded in the last 10 years. 2018 has already seen the benefit of deals that slipped from late 2017 with the investment volume in Q1 2018 likely to exceed €3 billion.

In 2017, approximately 360,000 sqm of new retail space was delivered to the Polish market, which is 15% less than in 2016. Most new shopping centres were completed in the eight largest agglomerations (over 66% of completions). Thus, at the end of 2017, the total stock of modern shopping centre space in Poland reached approximately 11.5 million sqm, according to Colliers International.

2017 was the best year ever for Poland's industrial market with gross demand totalling 3.9 million sqm, JLL reports. Retailers and logistics operators continued to drive the market, together accounting for more than 65% of net take-up in 2017.

Łódź will become the second Polish city after Warsaw with projects by HB Reavis. The company has become the new owner of a plot at 2 Targowa Street in Nowe Centrum Łodzi (The New Centre of Łódź). According to the local zoning plan, the area will consist of office buildings with publicly accessible retail and walkable spaces on the ground floors. The listed buildings located on the plot will also be preserved. The price of the plot has not been revealed.

Panattoni Europe will develop a manufacturing facility for Pilkington IGP. The project will take up more than 10,000 sqm at Panattoni Park Białystok. Production will be launched by early September this year, and at the initial stage of operations the plant will employ approx. 200 people.

Business services companies remain core office tenants in Wrocław, setting new market trends and trying to attract top talent. Michał Grabikowski, Head of the Wrocław Office of Cresa Poland summarised the key strengths of Lower Silesia’s capital city.

2017 was a great year for the CEE property market and the scene is set for 2018 to be even better. However, there are always risks to be wary of. Andreas Ridder, Chairman CEE at CBRE revealed Property Forum his expectations for the CEE investment market in 2018.

Golub GetHouse has signed the purchase agreement of the property located at Jagiellońska Street 82 in the Warsaw district of Praga-Północ. The investment plot with a total area of 11,533 sqm is located opposite the Kozminski University. In the first stage of the project, a modern student house with cca. 430 beds and with student amenities will be constructed. The investment will be covered by the Golub GetHouse Property Fund II FIZ and in partnership with CA Ventures company, specializing in the construction of student houses in the USA.

The Polish warehouse market remains in great shape. New year-to-year records are being broken. Gross demand amounted to 4 million sqm, of which 75% was made up of new lease agreements and expansions. This is a 32% improvement compared to 2016. High demand side results are due to the accelerating economy, including internal consumption growing month by month, and an increase in investment by companies. Developers responded quickly to high demand from tenants, resulting in 2.36 million sqm delivered on the market and 1.39 million sqm under construction at the end of 2017. The high level of absorption caused the vacancy rate decrease to 4.5%, according to the report summarising 2017 in the warehouse space market in Poland, prepared by AXI IMMO experts.