This is the main thesis of the report on the situation in the industrial and warehouse space market in Poland, published by the advisory firm Colliers International.
The general economic slowdown affected the condition of many companies, which had to verify their business strategies, completely abandoning or temporarily suspending decisions to lease warehouse space. Lower interest from tenants in new space, combined with a lack of financing for new investments, influenced a change in the activity of developers, who withdrew from building speculative projects and focused on leasing existing space or new developments in the built-to-suit system.
Lower tenant activity and oversupply in the market in the first half of 2009 led to a decline in rents.
According to Maciej Chmielewski, Partner in the Industrial and Warehouse Space Department at Colliers International, due to the small number of projects currently under construction (approximately 120,000 sq m), tenant activity will lead to a gradual decrease in the vacancy rate in individual locations. However, due to the relatively large amount of space still available, rents should remain stable in the coming months.