Despite the not-very-encouraging forecasts made by experts at the end of 2022, the office market in the Kyiv region in 2023 demonstrated stability and strengthening demand. Iryna Nastych talked to market experts and summarised the situation in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum  

Total demand in 2023 amounted to 464,570 sqm, while net take-up reached 238,250 sqm in the same period. Total demand increased by 19%, while net take-up showed a 21% growth compared to 2022, the Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

In Q3 2023, the Greater Budapest speculative stock increased by 140,730 sqm, adding five buildings to the stock. Five new buildings were also handed over in regional cities adding another 92,610 sqm to the stock there. The vacancy rate at the end of Q3 2023 was 10.0% in Greater Budapest, an increase of 140 basis points quarter-on-quarter and an increase of 510 basis points year-on-year, the Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

According to the latest data from Cushman & Wakefield, the average retail vacancy rate in Poland’s largest cities currently stands at 3.5%, down by 1.2 pp year-on-year. More importantly, falls were recorded in six out of the eight largest cities, with the availability of retail space at the lowest in Kraków, Łódź and Szczecin. This suggests a gradual retail recovery in Poland, says Cushman & Wakefield. Meanwhile, as the market continues to stabilize, retail landlords should increasingly turn their focus onto diversifying their offer.

In Q2 2023, the Greater Budapest speculative industrial stock increased by 65,580 sqm, adding six buildings to the stock, while in Regional Hungary, one new building was handed over. The vacancy rate at the end of Q2 2023 was 8.6% in Greater Budapest, an increase of 270 basis points quarter-on-quarter and an increase of 220 basis points year-on-year, the Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

The vacancy rate has climbed again in the second quarter on Budapest's struggling office market, reaching 12.6% after 12.2% in the previous quarter. Total demand reached 119,890 sqm in Q2 2023, which is 56% higher than the value registered in the previous quarter, the Budapest Research Forum reports.

Colliers’ latest report finds that varying return-to-office approaches post-COVID, underlying fundamentals of city functionality, approaches towards ESG-compliance differences and how markets have reacted to shifts in inflation and interest rates have created a significant divergence in office investment volumes, pricing, and appetite globally. In Europe, vacancy sits at a steady 8.1% and office occupancy rates have returned mainly to pre-pandemic levels of 65% on average across Europe.

In 2022, a total of 333,210 sqm of new industrial/logistics space was added to the Greater Budapest stock, the Budapest Research Forum reports.

The modern office stock in Romania has reached 4.3 million sqm at the end of the first semester of 2022, with another 335,300 sqm slated for delivery by the end of 2023, according to real estate consultancy CBRE. 

The lowest vacancy was registered in North Buda with a 4.4% rate, whereas the highest rate remained in the Periphery submarket (31.4%). Net absorption has remained positive by the end of the second quarter, amounting to 33,720 sqm, Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.