Office sector reports stable demand and investment recovery

In 2024, total new office supply barely exceeded 228,000 sqm, with most of this space delivered in Warsaw, Wrocław and Katowice. As a result, last year continued the stagnation in development activity, with a significant uptick in office construction completions unlikely before the end of 2026,” 

comments Ewa Derlatka-Chilewicz, Head of Research Poland, Cushman & Wakefield.

At the end of December 2024, approximately 180,000 sqm was under construction in Warsaw and 160,000 sqm in regional cities, around 80% less than in early 2020. Cushman & Wakefield estimates that Poland’s office market will expand by just 190,000 sqm this year. Looking ahead, this is expected to push vacancy rates down in prime locations across Polish cities,” 

adds Vitalii Arkhypenko, Market Analyst, Cushman & Wakefield.

In 2024, total leasing activity in Warsaw reached 740,200 sqm, down by a mere 1 percentage point year-on-year. Meanwhile, the Polish capital recorded 757 lease agreements, representing a decrease of just under 7% year-on-year. This highlights the gradual stabilisation of demand in Warsaw’s office rental market,” 

explains Jan Szulborski, Business Development & Insight Manager, Cushman & Wakefield.

Total office take-up in regional cities hit nearly 714,000 sqm by the end of December 2024, making a decrease of just 4% compared with 2023, a record-breaking year for regional office markets. Office demand continued to come predominantly from IT companies and the service and manufacturing sectors. Take-up was dominated by renewals which accounted for 51% of the total, while new leases and owner-occupier deals made up 46%, and expansions only 3%,” 

comments Michał Galimski, Partner, Head of Regional Markets, Cushman & Wakefield. 

In 2024, investment into Warsaw’s offices reached EUR 1.34 billion, marking a more than threefold year-on-year increase and just 5% below the five-year average. Regional cities attracted the remaining EUR 298 million. This remarkable performance reflects the strong fundamentals of Poland’s office market, which attracts investors with its high quality, diversified tenant portfolio and compliance of most of its existing office stock with ambitions ESG standards. Investment activity in high- and medium-value transactions continues to be driven by Czech and Swedish investors. However, domestic private capital is also becoming increasingly active, primarily targeting assets in the EUR 5-20 million range,” 

says Marcin Kocerba, Partner, Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield Poland.