2016 was a record-breaking year for the Polish investment market and had the best investment performance since the financial crisis in 2009. With over €4.5 billion transacted in 2016, Poland remains the stand out performer across the CEE region, CBRE reports in its latest in research. 

Poland’s total retail stock stood at nearly 14 million sqm at year-end 2016. Shopping centres continue to dominate the market, accounting for 73% of the country’s stock, followed by retail warehouses (18%), retail parks (8%) and outlet centres (1%). Last year’s new supply totalled 460,600 sqm, of which more than three-fourths were delivered across shopping centres. Twenty two new retail schemes were opened in 2016: 15 shopping centres, the largest being Posnania in Poznań (99,000 sqm) and Galeria Metropolia in Gdańsk (34,000 sqm), two retail parks and five standalone retail warehouses. Extensions and redevelopments of 13 existing schemes provided 74,000 sqm of leasable space, making up 16% of the total annual supply. Cushman & Wakefield presented its latest report on Poland’s retail market.

One of the subsidiaries of Plaza Centers has completed the sale of Suwałki Plaza shopping and entertainment centre in Poland to an investment fund for €42.3 million, which is in line with the last reported book value, the company reports.

In 2016, total office stock in Poland’s eight key regional cities (Krakow, Wrocław, Tricity, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź, Szczecin and Lublin) rose to nearly 4 million sqm. Krakow, Wrocław and Tricity remain the largest regional office hubs. Office take-up hit nearly 590,000 sqm, which represented a 50% rise on the average for the years 2011–2015. Cushman & Wakefield presented an overview of the Polish regional office market for 2016 in its latest report.

Echo Polska Properties (EPP) has concluded a preliminary acquisition agreement with two real estate funds managed by Blackstone, to acquire 4 retail properties for €166.57 million. The properties are Galeria Twierdza in Klodzko (€40.67m), Galeria Twierdza in Zamosc (€53.51m), Galeria Tecza in Kalisz (€23.21m) and Wzorcownia Shopping Centre in Wloclawek (€49.17m). 

Savills has been appointed by Echo Investment to manage an 16,000 sqm office building, Nobilis Business House in Wrocław. The company has also been appointed to manage the 16-storey, mixed-use Wratislavia Tower on behalf of Cinema Tower Sp. z o.o. The 20,000 sqm property officially joined Savills portfolio in December 2016.

In 2016, office supply in Warsaw rose by 65% on the annual average for the period 2011–2015. The largest number of new office buildings was delivered in the City Core and the Fringe. Take-up came predominantly from the business services sector. Cushman & Wakefield presented an overview of the Warsaw office market in 2016 in its latest report.

2016 reached the volume of €11.8bn in investment markets across Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, according to a research report by Colliers International. Aside from Poland, investment flows in 2017 will be close to or higher than 2016’s.  The retail sector might see continued rental growth and high investment levels across the region.

Goodman is now constructing a second modern warehouse building totalling 36,700 sqm in Pomeranian Logistics Centre. The company’s flagship development in Poland has already secured five new pre-lease agreements.

In 2016, the Warsaw office market grew by 407,000 sqm of new space in 21 projects. The vacancy rate has grown by 1.9 pp on a yearly basis to 14.2 of total stock with central locations having lower occupancy rates than non-central locations. The Polish Office Research Forum has published its data on the Warsaw office market for Q4 2016.