A fleeting trend or a well-thought-out strategy? Cushman & Wakefield presented a report on the use of commercial buildings’ rooftops.

In the third quarter of 2018, the Polish warehouse market was bolstered by 683,400 sqm of new supply. At the end of September, storage space in Poland exceeded 15 million sqm, which means that in the last 5 years the total surface volume has doubled. Almost 2 million sqm remains under construction, of which more than 25% in Central Poland.

Poland's industrial sector remains in great shape. Up to 2.8 million sqm of space was leased and 1.3 million sqm delivered to market from the beginning of January to the end of September 2018. Nearly 2.1 million sqm of industrial space remains under construction, according to JLL.

Colliers International is predicting it will be a further seven years before there is a rebalancing of the physical and online retailing sectors across Europe.

For growing numbers of employees across Europe's big cities, heading into the office no longer entails sitting at the same desk, next to the same colleagues each day. As more companies of all shapes and sizes choose turn to flexible space – whether its hot-desking areas in buildings they already occupy or taking space in independently owned coworking set-ups - it's fast becoming part of modern working life and a small but increasingly significant part of Europe's office markets. Europe's flex space footprint has doubled since the start of 2015, according to JLL's report. In 2017 alone, flexible space grew by 29 percent, adding around 620,000 square meters.

In their early days, start-ups require a flexible working environment and usually opt for co-working space, which, however, is relatively costly in the long term. That’s why it’s important that they do not overstay there and move forward at the right time, says Artur Sutor, Partner and Head of Office Department at Cresa Poland.

Excellent warehouse market figures for the third quarter this year show that growth is being maintained in Poland. Demand has exceeded 3 million sqm since the beginning of the year, with 870,000 sqm leased in the third quarter alone. This result is 20% higher compared with the same period last year. An impressive 2.16 million sqm of warehouse and production space is under construction, of which 33% will be delivered on the market by the end of the year, according to a report prepared by AXI IMMO.

German funds have always been one of the main players on the investment market in Poland and the CEE region. However, in recent years their share in transaction volume has been decreasing. Currently, they stand at around 15% of the total value invested annually. New entrants from the USA, Asia and South Africa have increased competition for commercial property in the region. Poland and the Czech Republic are still the CEE markets of choice for German investors seeking to locate their capital in commercial real estate.

For the first time in five years, Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay has replaced New York’s Upper 5th Avenue as the world’s most expensive retail street by rental value, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. The Czech Republic has made it into the top 20 world’s most expensive retail streets. With rents of €230 per sqm per month, Prague’s Na Příkopě Street is at No. 19, leaping three positions up from the last year

Between Q1 and Q3 2018, demand for office space in Poland reached nearly 1.1 million sqm, signalling a continued strong market momentum. JLL summarised the situation on the Polish office market at the end of Q3 2018.