The office market is now at the epicentre of changes caused by the transition to the remote work model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the epidemic situation improving, organisations have already commenced planning the return of employees to the workplace. The analysis of the findings of a survey of tenants of the office buildings in the portfolio of properties under the management of Cushman & Wakefield Poland reveals how companies are preparing for this change.

NEPI Rockcastle’s turnover in H1 2021 was 28.1% higher than in H1 2020 and 23.1% lower than in H1 2019 (on a property like-for-like basis, excluding hypermarkets and entertainment). The company published its interim financial report for H1 2021.

According to Savills, total modern office space in Prague increased slightly in Q2 2021 to 3.73 million sqm. Although subdued and still challenged by uncertainty, Q2 2021 saw a recovery in new supply as 49,500 sqm was delivered to the market across four new projects. Even though a decline of 57% is still visible in y-o-y comparison, new office supply for the second quarter is 10% above the pre-pandemic quarterly average.

The occupancy level in Prague’s hotels was just 10% during the first six months of this year, with revenue remaining far below the average of the pre-coronavirus years. Contrary to initial expectations, their owners are not selling them – definitely not on a mass scale. Investors’ interest in buying remains strong – more than one-third of them are “very” or “highly” interested in Prague, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s current Hotel Investor Beat survey. Investors obviously trust Prague’s hospitality market and perceive its current situation as temporary.

CTP announced its results for the first half-year of 2021. CTP reports strong half-year results and is well on track to further accelerate its development, raising its GLA growth target to beyond 7.7 million sqm by year-end 2021, up from 7.5 million sqm as guidance at its IPO end of March 2021.

The office leasing market in Bucharest is gradually recovering and there were deals worth 70,000 sqm that were closed in the second quarter, according to an analysis by real estate consultancy Griffes. 

According to Savills, the Czech nationwide industrial vacancy rate declined again and reached a new historic low of 2.4%, after dropping by 89 basis points (bps) since the end of 2020. The volume of new industrial space delivered to the market during H1 2021 was 43% down year-on-year (y-o-y). The total stock of modern industrial premises in the country grew by 192,300 sqm, of which 110,800 sqm were completed in Q2 2021. At the end of June, the total stock stood at 9.3 million sqm.

The growth potential of the Polish construction market will remain significant through 2026 on the back of the continuation of ambitious road and railway infrastructure projects, the required power transformation of the Polish economy and the steadily robust performance of the residential construction sector. A vast majority of projects underway or planned to implemented are located in the six most economically advanced regions, which jointly account for two-thirds of the construction market’s value.

Following their reopening in May, shopping centres have seen both their revenue and footfall increase to a rate exceeding the performance during the same period last year. The footfall was lower than in the pre-crisis year 2019, but the revenue was comparable; in fact, it was slightly higher. Supermarkets and hypermarkets fare the best in terms of revenue; electronics and health and beauty products are also doing well. The current performance of shopping centres can therefore be described as very strong, with figures exceeding initial expectations, and investors show renewed interest in properties again, with several major retail transactions being planned for this year and the next. To date, office and logistics properties have been selling the best this year.

A lack of materials and an increase in the price of construction work is troubling the industrial real estate market in the Czech Republic. Industrial space in desirable locations is in short supply. Occupancy rates in Prague and the close surroundings are rising and vacancy rates have almost reached zero. Tenants are well aware of the situation and it has become more common for them to extend their lease contracts for longer periods, according to 108 Agency’s market summary.