Mateusz Sikora, Co-Founder of Rebench startup has talked to Property Forum about the life cycle of the office furniture, the importance of the circularity and the implementation of the ESG principles in the Polish property market.

According to a report published by Newmark Polska, the Warsaw office market has entered a period of stabilization, with development activity continuing at a moderate but steady pace. During the second quarter of 2024, the Polish capital’s vacancy rate edged down over the quarter, while more and more tenants chose to renegotiate leases. Meanwhile, the growing occupier demand for sustainable and high-tech offices led to an increase in refurbishment or repurposing projects.

Panattoni is constructing a Built To Own (BTO) manufacturing centre for Compal. Electronic components for the automotive industry are to be produced in a factory that is under construction in Czeladź (southern Poland). 

The average flat size in Poland is 21 sqm smaller than the EU average and the overcrowding rate is nearly 20 percentage points higher, says Cushman & Wakefield in its latest report. It is therefore no wonder that despite increasingly prohibitive prices, housing demand continues to grow, thereby fuelling demand for mortgages. According to BIK data, June 2024 saw an almost 52% year-on-year increase in mortgage enquiries, with this growth also driven by interest rate cuts - the first since 2021. It would take Polish people wanting to buy a dream home several years to save up enough for a 20% mortgage deposit. Unfortunately, Cushman & Wakefield’s forecasts indicate that price growth is unlikely to ease to give Polish consumers some respite. Contrary to intentions, factors that are likely to add to their disadvantage include a new governmental support scheme and constrained land availability.  

A consortium of Santander Bank Polska and Bank Pekao S.A. granted AFI Europe and Echo Investment a construction and investment loan of €103.4 million and a VAT loan of PLN 20 million. The loan will finance the development of Office House, the first phase of the multifunctional Towarowa 22 project. It will be completed in the spring of 2025.

GTC has presented the summary of its activities in Poland in the first half of 2024. Over 35,400 sqm of office space was leased across ten buildings in Poland's largest cities. GTC’s properties attracted 14 new partners, and 18 companies chose to extend their leases.

The last two years have not been the best for the European real estate market, including in Poland. However, it seems that the worst is behind us. This is confirmed by the growing interest in Poland from foreign investors. This also applies to investors from the UK, who can still effectively diversify their portfolios on the Polish real estate market. Szymon Mojzesowicz, Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shared his insights on the topic. 

CTP has leased around 10,000 sqm of modern warehouse space at CTPark Warsaw North to Trako Team Rafał Kopański, a Polish brand from the transport, shipping and logistics (TSL) sector.

Invesco Real Estate has completed its first mezzanine lending deal in Central Europe on behalf of Invesco Real Estate Europe Fund III – SCSp (Europe III). The €20 million loan has been secured against the BTS logistics facility in Psary (Upper Silesia, Poland), recently completed by DL Invest. 

Panattoni has begun the final construction stage of its City Logistics Kraków I urban park in the city’s Nowa Huta district. A total of 11,300 sqm is to be built with the park to expand to its final target size of 36,500 sqm.