Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield summarises the Krakow office market at year-end 2018.
Krakow continued its lead among regional city office markets in 2018. Its total office stock reached 1,257,500 sq m, of which 155,200 sq m was delivered in 2018 alone. 2019 is set to be an even better year with more than 190,000 sq m of office space scheduled for completion across 17 new projects.
Key metrics are a confirmation of the good health of the Krakow office market. Net absorption hit 155,100 sq m in 2018, which represented a 4% increase year-on-year. In addition, gross take-up rose by 5% to 211,000 sq m, which accounted for 33% of last year’s total leasing activity recorded on Poland’s regional office markets and is yet another confirmation of Krakow’s strength. The city’s vacancy rate stood at 8.6%, down by 1.2 pp.
Last year’s largest office completions included Cavatina’s Equal Business Park C (23,500 sq m), Echo Investment’s O3 Business Campus (19,200 sq m) and the first phase of Decon Investment’s Podium Park (15,700 sq m). Key lease transactions were the 14,000 sq m lease at Tertium Business Park I, Capgemini Polska’s 11,850 sq m renegotiation at Rondo Business Park 1 & 2 and the 10,950 sq m expansion and renegotiation by UBS at Kraków Business Park 800.
Prime office rents stood at EUR 14.50/sq m/month in 2018, but are expected to edge down in 2019 due to high supply levels.
