After the first three quarters of 2017 the warehouse market continues to be the fastest and most dynamically growing commercial property sector in Poland. According to the latest At a Glance. Industrial and warehouse market in Poland, Q3 2017 report by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, since the beginning of the year the total volume of modern warehouse space has increased by 13.6%. Q3 was dominated by Szczecin with the completion and delivery of the country’s largest warehouse scheme: Panattoni BTS Amazon Szczecin, with the area in excess of 161 000 sqm.
Impressive results
Q3 2017 was dominated by the Szczecin region. Delivery to the market of two large-scale schemes, which included Poland’s largest warehouse scheme, has discernibly strengthened the region’s position. The Szczecin cluster is strategically located in direct proximity to the German border and enjoys the availability of qualified workforce, hence this region captures interest through a large number of foreign players. I am certain that the Polish warehouse market will win over an even larger number of foreign businesses as in the past it more than once proved that it is able to skilfully find balance between relatively low rents and the high standard of warehouse space offered and operations carried out.
Katarzyna Pyś-Fabiańczyk, Head of Industrial & Logistics Department, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, Central and Eastern Europe
Continued interest from investors
The modern warehouse market is growing extremely rapidly. The pace of growth is surprisingly high, and there are record results achieved from one quarter to another. Only between July and the end of September 2017 the volume of space delivered resulted in the sector’s growth by 7.9%. The completion of a record number of new schemes did not lead to an increase in the vacancy rate, where in fact quite the opposite was observed. The vacancy rated dropped by 0.5 p.p. as compared to the value recorded at the end of 2016 and currently stands at 5.6%. The results confirm that there is continuously high demand for industrial space and that build-to-suit projects represent an effective way of reducing the share of vacant space in warehouse schemes.
Szymon Dołęga, Senior Consultant, Research and Consultancy, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Central and Eastern Europe