A lot of activity in all respects. 900,000 sq m of office space under construction in the main markets.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Q3 2011 Polish Office Market Summary

Warsaw, 17th October 2011 – Jones Lang LaSalle summarised the office market data and trends in Warsaw and the other main Polish cities after Q3 2011.

Set out below are most interesting facts and messages:

• Warsaw clearly outperformed the rest of the country in respect of the number of completions: six new office buildings totalling almost 60,000 sq m entered the market. New additions in the regional markets were limited to just 1,550 sq m in the Tri-City.
• Construction activity is booming both in Warsaw (550,000 sq m of office space under construction) and outside of the capital city (354,000 sq m currently being developed). Wrocław still remains the most active market outside Warsaw in this respect.
• Occupiers’ market sentiment is reasonably strong. So far this year we have registered lease transactions for approximately 440,000 sq m in Warsaw and 228,000 sq m outside Warsaw.
• Pre-lets had a strong share among the biggest deals signed in Q3 2011 and these included leases signed by companies from ENERGA Group (around 8,000 sq m) in Gdańsk, Imtech (7,100 sq m) in Warsaw, Tieto (4,700 sq m) in Wrocław and PTU (4,600 sq m) in Warsaw. Other important deals encompassed: Mostostal (new, 7,800 sq m) in Warsaw, a company from the BPO sector (new, 6,700 sq m) in Kraków, Credit Suisse (expansion, 5,900 sq m) in Wrocław and Polbank (renewal, 5,400 sq m and 4,600 sq m) in Warsaw.
• Prime headline rents remained stable in the majority of office markets in Poland.

Mateusz Polkowski, Senior Analyst in Jones Lang LaSalle comments on the above research findings: “Another quarter of 2011 confirmed that the situation on the office market in Poland is stable and the outlook for most of the markets looks promising. It is proved by a significant developers’ activity across Poland with over 900 000 sq m of modern office space at construction stage. Demand for offices, especially in Warsaw, remains sound, and the rents have started to grow not only in the capital city, but also in Wroclaw and Krakow.”