The total take-up (including the extensions of the existing lease agreements) amounted to approximately 733,600 sqm in the first half of 2018. This represents a 14% year-on-year increase. Out of more than 120 transactions in total, more than 35% were entirely new leases – roughly 20% fewer than last year. The biggest new lease deal was Emerge a.s. leasing more than 18,000 sqm. The second biggest new lease deal belongs to cargo-partner ČR. The ratio of vacant industrial space in the Czech Republic decreased to 3.6% at the end of the first half of 2018. The vacancy rate in Prague decreased to 2.7%. The Prague, Ústi and Plzeň regions dominated the demand. The total area of industrial space intended for lease in the Czech Republic grew to 7.37 million sqm in the first half of 2018.

 

“Prague has been popular among tenants for a long time thanks to its undisputed benefits. In particular, the popularity of Prague-West has grown significantly this year; the example of cargo-partner ČR shows that the existing tenants prefer to stay there even if they need to expand. The vacancy rate in Prague-West ranged around 4% in the last three years and was as high as 5.25% at the end of 2017. As of the middle of this year, it is just 1.5%. It is almost twice as low as the overall vacancy rate in Prague,” says Ferdinand Hlobil, Partner and the Head of the CEE Industrial Team at Cushman & Wakefield.