2018 was a record-breaking year for the Polish commercial property investment market. The total volume of transactions completed in the office, retail, warehouse and logistics as well as hotel sectors came to nearly 7.3 billion euro, which represents y-o-y growth of approx. 41%. This is a result not previously recorded on the Polish market.
The investment market will be driven by the positive results achieved by Poland’s economy and the continuously attractive prices prevailing on the Polish property market as compared to those to be found on Western European markets. We estimate that the interest in office, logistics and industrial properties will remain the same in each of the sectors. On the other hand, we expect the volume of transactions in the hotel sector to increase. In turn, most retail operators will be facing the challenge brought about by the reduced – and to be further reduced – number of trading days and consequently lower turnovers set against the rents in effect. Consolidation of retail chains represents another important issue. Moreover, due to the fact that more than 90% of the Polish investment market is dependent on foreign investors, the way Poland is perceived internationally is also of considerable significance
Mateusz Skubiszewski, Director, Capital Markets, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland
There were a few significant portfolio transactions completed, where two largest ones were carried out by a new player on the Polish investment market. The Singaporean Mapletree fund purchased warehouse property portfolios from Hillwood and Prologis for the total price of approx. 581 million euro. However, we should also remember about one of the most important transactions completed with respect to an individual asset, i.e. the purchase by the South Korean Vestas fund of the second largest and the most technologically advanced e-commerce logistics centre in Europe. It is operated by Amazon, one of the e-commerce market leaders, that uses the distribution centre located near Szczecin to run its German market operations. Additionally, the transaction was finalized at a rate of return not previously recorded in the sector.
Piotr Goździewicz, Director, Capital Markets, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland