According to Cresa’s latest report, the vacancy rate on Poland warehouse market is at a record low of 4.3% at the end Q3 2018 (down by 0.9 pp compared to September 2017). With new supply continually on the rise, Poland’s warehouse and industrial stock has already surpassed the 15 million sqm mark.
Central Poland stands out against other regions in terms of new supply which topped 253,000 sqm in Q3 2018. The region’s leasing activity hit 134,000 sqm while its vacancy rate stood at just 1.5%. There is currently nearly 600,000 sqm of modern warehouse and industrial space under construction.
“Benefiting from its strategic location, availability of motorways and expressways, and cross-docking terminals in Łódź and Kutno, Central Poland attracts strong interest of logistics, retail and e-commerce operators. The volume of warehouse space under construction rose by 57.2% on the same period in 2017. Despite the robust occupier interest in the region, nominal rents remain flat at EUR 2.60-3.60 per sqm,” says Jowita Spiżarska, Advisor, Industrial and Warehouse Department, Cresa Poland.
Nearly all regions in Poland are thriving. The development pipeline stands at 2.1 million sqm. The volume of transaction activity rose in Q3 2018 by 9% compared to the same period last year.
Given the transaction volumes in 2013-2017, the strongest average annual occupier activity was recorded in Warsaw (802,800 sqm), Upper Silesia (538,000 sqm) and Central Poland (478,200 sqm). Compared to the average regional volumes, the highest increases in leasing transactions in Q3 2018 were in Eastern Poland (277%), Krakow (179%) and Central Poland (128%).
The rapid growth of e-commerce, including online retail sales, is driving demand for logistics space and services of logistics operators and couriers.
As in previous years, new leases accounted for the biggest share of total take-up (66%). Renegotiations made up 20% of all deals.
“The warehouse market is expected to continue to expand in the upcoming years, driven by robust occupier interest and the economy powering ahead. The growth momentum could be somewhat slowed down only by rising development and general contractor costs and labour shortages due to strong demand for construction services coming from all real estate market segments in Poland,” says Tom Listowski, Partner, Head of Industrial and Warehouse, CEE, Cresa.
