The predicted slowdown of completed projects in 2023 will come after a record year for the market, where leasing activity reached almost 1.2 million sqm. It was up 15.6% year-on-year. In the same period, net demand increased by 28.7% to almost 935,500 sqm. 

During 2022, demand for industrial space came mainly from retail (21.5% of the total), logistics (13.4%), distribution of consumer goods (7.2%) and e-commerce (6.2%). 

”Diversification of demand by increasing the number of requests for production space, temperature-controlled space or data centers fuels optimism among investors," said Ionuț Grigoraș, Senior Industrial Consultant at JLL Romania. 

Due to the new deliveries, the vacancy rate had reached 4.4% across major cities and 5.3% in Bucharest region in the last quarter of 2022. Looking at the development pipeline, Romania’s industrial stock could come closer to the 7 million sqm milestone. This would make Romania the third biggest industrial market in CEE, behind Poland and the Czech Republic. 

This year, rents could continue to grow amid high inflation. In the last three months of last year, the prime monthly rent stood at €4.25 per sqm.