The authors of the cyclical report from BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland summed up the existing office space in key regional cities, which at the end of Q1 approached the level of 6.3 million sq m. In the analyzed period, the markets grew by nearly 244 thousand. sq m, with the beginning of the year definitely belonging to Katowice. It was the capital of Upper Silesia that accounted for about 48 percent. new supply. This was spread over six buildings, including .Ktw II, which came out of the line of Medusa Group and is today the tallest office building in the Metropolis GZM, or buildings A1 and A2 in the Global Office Park office complex, developed by Cavatina Holding. In Q1, the occupancy permit was also received by: another office building in the Krakow High5ive complex from Skanska, Łódź office buildings in the React and Monopolis complexes,

After the results of the first quarter, we can see that companies began to boldly return to the decision to rent office space. Your priority may have been to secure your contract here and now. Especially that the risks associated with further increases in construction costs and, consequently, rents, as well as delays in project implementation, are strongly taken into account - comments Michał Baranowski, consultant from the Office Space Leasing Department, BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Experts estimate that from January to the end of March over 153,000 sq m were leased. sq m offices. A positive signal - despite the objectively difficult economic situation and high uncertainty dictated not only by the pandemic, but also by the war in Ukraine - is the increase in demand on a year-on-year basis by over 57%. Its structure is similar to that observed in Warsaw, with the dominance of new lease contracts, which accounted for almost 68 percent. all new contracts. The top 3 largest contracts signed by the end of March include: the new PwC contract, which will move nearly 13,000 sq m to .Ktw II, new contract for the lease of 9.3 thousand sq m in Katowice's Global Office Park A1, which was signed by the gaming giant, Keywords Studio, or the renewal of the lease by Ericsson in the Olimpia Software Pool office building.

The report "At A Glance - Regional Office Markets Q1 2022" shows that after the first three months of the year, over 567,000 were under construction. sq m of modern space, of which approximately half - 265 thousand. sq m - is to be ready this year.

Construction sites in regions may experience delays caused not only by disruptions in supply chains and the unavailability of many materials, but also by a sudden outflow of workers from Ukraine, who constitute a significant percentage of those employed in the construction or TSL sectors. The increase in demand with a modest portfolio of projects under construction in some cities may quickly result in a supply gap - emphasizes Klaudia Okoń, consultant from the Business Intelligence Hub Department, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland.

In the first quarter of the year, the vacancy rate was 15.5 percent. The vacancy rate increased by 1.4 pp from that observed at the end of the last quarter of 2021 and by as much as 2.9 pp from the same period last year. The authors of the report indicate that this result is influenced by the record quarterly supply, which broke almost 8 percent in just three months. the level of all new supply from 2021.