At the end of 2018, Warsaw’s total office stock stood at 5.46 million sqm. Despite last year’s supply gap, which is expected to carry into 2019, new supply totalled 232,700 sqm delivered across 20 office projects, down by 70,000 sqm on the five-year average for 2012–2017. Cushman & Wakefield presented a summary of 2018 on the Warsaw office market.

According to JLL, CEE's real estate investment transactional volume for 2018 was in excess of €13.23 billion and recorded an 11% increase over 2017 (€11.92 billion). JLL has registered continued appetite from investors for the full range of assets across the entire region. Poland smashed its previous record volume set in 2006 (€5.05 billion) with a spectacular €7.2 billion traded, and secured a massive regional share of 54%. Poland was followed by the Czech Republic (€2.51 billion - 19% share), Hungary (€1.85 billion - 14%), Romania (€900 million - 7%) and Slovakia (€820 million - 6%).

By opening its first hostel in Poland’s capital Warsaw, Berlin-based budget group a&o is set to expand its portfolio to 35 hostels, 22 cities, and seven countries. The former office building in the central district of Wola will have over 200 rooms and 600 beds, and will open in Q3 2019.

Last year an astonishing 860,000 sqm of office space was leased, with the vacancy rate dropping 8.7%, and new supply totalling 230,000 sqm. Currently, the total under-construction volume stands at 720,000 sqm. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in 2018.

Construction and assembly output generated by Polish construction companies in foreign markets has hit an all-time high of €1.55 billion, but this is still below the potential of domestic contractors. Importantly, a considerable change to the structure of companies engaged in foreign orders took place in recent years – the centre of gravity has shifted from the biggest construction groups to smaller companies with a specialised focus.

Catalyst Capital, a European real estate investment and fund management firm, has completed the acquisition of €194 million of high-quality retail assets in Sweden, Germany, Poland and an office development in Paris for its new Catalyst Core Plus European Property Fund (CCPEPF), a €1 billion “evergreen” real estate fund. Catalyst has acquired Galleria Center Syd in Malmo from Baring Real Estate, the Rathaus Center Dietzenbach near Frankfurt from Hahn Group, the Zielony Targówek retail park in Warsaw from Credit Suisse Asset Management and agreed to forward fund an office development by VINCI Immobilier in Saint-Denis, Paris.

The Polish commercial real estate market is in the best shape it has ever been, posting a record-high investment volume that exceeded €7 billion in 2018. Office and industrial sectors, in particular, are setting new highs with last year’s trading volumes at nearly €2.6 billion and nearly €1.9 billion, respectively.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €60 million loan agreement with ArtN Sp. z o.o., a subsidiary of Capital Park S.A., for a flagship project to revitalise the former Norblin factory site in central Warsaw. This is the first EIB transaction in Poland with a real estate investor under a project financing scheme.

The expected reduction in construction activity in 2019 indicates the maturity of the traditional retail format market. New opportunities for owners and tenants come in the form of mixed-use projects and omni-channel retailing. JLL summarised the Polish retail market in 2018.

2018 was an all-time record year for the real estate investment market in Poland with more than 100 transactions completed with a total volume of over €7.2 billion, reflecting an impressive nearly 45% growth year-on-year, according to Savills.