Weekly CRE Market Commentary

Warsaw Leads a Week of Prime Office Repricing as Supply Constraints Tighten Across CEE Capitals

Office vacancy is falling across every major CEE capital simultaneously, and the pipeline to replace expiring supply is at or near historic lows. This week's transactions and data releases confirmed that prime office space in Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, and Sofia is now structurally underserved, a condition that is translating directly into rent growth and selective investor conviction around Grade A, ESG-compliant stock.

Market Mood

This week's deal flow was defined by scarcity. Colliers confirmed that total CEE capital office stock reached 22.1 million sqm by end of 2025, but new completions are at record lows and will stay below long-term averages through 2026. Rising construction costs and tightening financing standards mean the pipeline will not recover quickly. For well-specified existing stock, landlord pricing power is building. For older product, the ESG gap is widening into a structural disadvantage.

Where Capital Is Moving

The week's headline transaction was Lewandpol Group's acquisition of Warsaw's Central Point tower from Immobel for €107 million, a Polish capital group buying a prime BREEAM Excellent certified 19,300 sqm office tower in the city centre. The deal is part of a broader pattern: domestic Polish capital now accounts for roughly 30% of office sector volume and is moving up the quality curve. Polish investment volumes reached €2.3 billion across 50 deals in the first five months of 2026, with industrial still leading at over €700 million, but office repricing is generating the most meaningful single-asset transactions.

In logistics, 7R progressed two significant mandates: a 51,000 sqm BTS centre for Pepco near Gdańsk and the first Czech lease at 7R Park Lavičky, where GXO will establish a 26,000 sqm purpose-built facility for L'Oréal. Both are pre-let before delivery, consistent with the week's broader theme of occupier commitment driving developer confidence. DSV expanded to over 65,000 sqm at Panattoni's Wrocław Campus 2, adding 19,800 sqm of new warehouse capacity. Panattoni also secured financing for its Poznań West Gate I complex of nearly 61,000 sqm and broke ground on Business Park Prague I, a three-hall scheme totalling 44,800 sqm in Phase 1.

Retail capital moved at two distinct scales. Apsys sold a stake in Posnania in Poznań, one of Poland's largest retail and entertainment destinations with 14 million visitors in 2025 and 6.5% tenant turnover growth, to Czech fund Trigea, retaining management and co-ownership. At the portfolio end, SCF entered Romania with a €40 million acquisition of two NEST retail parks totalling nearly 24,000 sqm of GLA. In Warsaw, G City Europe began a 6,000 sqm expansion of G City Promenada.

CEE/SEE

Budapest's office market saw vacancy drop to 12.0% in Q1 2026, with 426,000 sqm under construction, but demand is polarising sharply towards prime ESG-compliant assets. Legacy stock faces chronic vacancy and will not recover through rental incentives alone. In Romania, institutional investors are returning, with logistics and industrial platform consolidation driving the largest ticket sizes and retail regaining favour. Strabag acquired Romanian railway infrastructure firm Bawi Construction for approximately €60 million in output, a strategic move that positions the group for Romania's accelerating public infrastructure programme. In the Czech Republic, CTP secured its first tenants at CTPark Plzeň Kasárny, a 50,000 sqm+ redevelopment of former barracks. Penta Real Estate appointed a new CEO and signalled entry into a fourth market beyond the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the UK. In Kraków, Revetas Capital secured four lease transactions totalling 5,700 sqm at Bonarka for Business.

Slovenia and Adriatic

Housing price growth in Ljubljana is showing signs of slowing, though the market remains at elevated levels. The Ljubljana Stock Exchange saw NLB Skladi prepare a real estate IPO, aimed at making property investment accessible to retail investors, a structural development that could gradually broaden the institutional investor base in Slovenia. On the infrastructure front, the SŽ CEO stated that a new Ljubljana-Celje railway line could be built in four years if permits are secured within two, a timeline that would materially improve Central Slovenian logistics connectivity. Cargo Center Graz reported that some shipping companies are already shifting cargo from Koper to Rijeka following Maersk's new Rijeka Gateway terminal and a regular Rijeka-Graz rail service. This is a direct competitive signal for the Port of Koper that warrants attention from logistics real estate investors along the Adriatic corridor. A Styrian entrepreneur group acquired 13 Tuš retail centres and stores for €40 million, the most significant Slovenian retail transaction of the year to date.

Outlook

The CEE office supply constraint is the defining structural story for the second half of 2026. With completions at or near record lows across all six capitals and construction economics preventing a quick pipeline response, prime rents will move further upward. Investors with existing Grade A exposure are in the strongest position. For logistics, the twin BTS mandates at 7R and the DSV expansion at Panattoni Wrocław signal that occupier-led development remains the dominant delivery model, and lender appetite for pre-let schemes is undiminished. Watch for further Polish domestic capital acquisitions in office, and monitor the Koper-Rijeka cargo shift for its longer-term implications on Adriatic logistics infrastructure investment.

_Sources

<sub>EuropaProperty
- EuropaProperty — Poland's investment market continues to impress — https://europaproperty.com/polands-investment-market-continues-to-impress/
- EuropaProperty — 7R signs its first lease transaction in the Czech Republic — https://europaproperty.com/7r-signs-its-first-lease-transaction-in-the-czech-republic/
- EuropaProperty — Revetas secures 4 lease transactions in B4B in Krakow — https://europaproperty.com/revetas-secures-4-lease-transactions-in-b4b-in-krakow/
- EuropaProperty — Skyliner II has reached its target height — https://europaproperty.com/skyliner-ii-has-reached-its-target-height/
- EuropaProperty — Apsys Welcomes Trigea as Equity Partner in Posnania — https://europaproperty.com/apsys-welcomes-trigea-as-equity-partner-in-posnania/
- EuropaProperty — G City Europe Commences Expansion of G City Promenada in Warsaw — https://europaproperty.com/g-city-europe-commences-expansion-of-g-city-promenada-in-warsaw/
- EuropaProperty — Arcona and REINO Launch Pan European Investment Platform — https://europaproperty.com/arcona-and-reino-launch-pan-european-investment-platform/
- EuropaProperty — Investment Slowdown and Selective Demand Shape Poland's Office Markets — https://europaproperty.com/investment-slowdown-and-selective-demand-shape-polands-office-markets/</sub>

<sub>Property Forum
- Property Forum — Offices are back and Poland's growth engine is still running — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/offices-are-back-and-polands-growth-engine-is-still-running/21614
- Property Forum — Lewandpol Property buys Warsaw's Central Point tower for €107 million — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/lewandpol-property-buys-warsaws-central-point-tower-for-eur107-million/21628
- Property Forum — DSV expands to 65,000 sqm at Panattoni's Wrocław Campus 2 — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/dsv-expands-to-65000-sqm-at-panattonis-wroclaw-campus-2/21634
- Property Forum — 7R develops 51,000 sqm logistics centre for Pepco near Gdańsk — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/7r-develops-51000-sqm-logistics-centre-for-pepco-near-gdansk/21620
- Property Forum — Panattoni secures financing for Poznań logistics park — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/panattoni-secures-financing-for-poznan-logistics-park/21608
- Property Forum — Panattoni starts industrial project in Prague — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/panattoni-starts-industrial-project-in-prague/21607
- Property Forum — Office supply across CEE capitals to remain constrained this year, says Colliers — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/office-supply-across-cee-capitals-to-remain-constrained-this-year-says-colliers/21632
- Property Forum — Apsys sells stake in Posnania shopping centre to Trigea — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/apsys-sells-stake-in-posnania-shopping-centre-to-trigea/21618
- Property Forum — Budapest offices face ESG polarization and AI evolution — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/budapest-offices-face-esg-polarization-and-ai-evolution/21617
- Property Forum — SCF enters Romania with €40 million retail park deal — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/scf-enters-romania-with-eur40-million-retail-park-deal/21612
- Property Forum — Strabag acquires Romanian railway firm Bawi Construction — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/strabag-acquires-romanian-railway-firm-bawi-construction/21611
- Property Forum — CTP attracts first tenants in Plzeň redevelopment project — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/ctp-attracts-first-tenants-in-plzen-redevelopment-project/21609
- Property Forum — Penta Real Estate names new CEO amid international expansion — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/penta-real-estate-names-new-ceo-amid-international-expansion/21621
- Property Forum — Warsaw's growth story is far from over — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/warsaws-growth-story-is-far-from-over/21626
- Property Forum — Polish regional offices grapple with low supply in early 2026 — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/polish-regional-offices-grapple-with-low-supply-in-early-2026/21615
- Property Forum — Zone retail park network unifies 20 sites in Hungary — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/zone-retail-park-network-unifies-20-sites-in-hungary/21627</sub>

<sub>Finance.si
- Finance.si — Stanovanja: Se rast cen v Ljubljani umirja? — https://www.finance.si/stanovanja-se-rast-cen-v-ljubljani-umirja/a/9048295 — Author: Jurij Šimac
- Finance.si — R. Brugger, Cargo Center Graz: Nekateri ladjarji že premikajo tovor iz Kopra na Reko — https://www.finance.si/logistika-%26-prevozi/r-brugger-cargo-center-graz-nekateri-ladjarji-ze-premikajo-tovor-iz-kopra-na-reko/a/9048305 — Author: Nataša Koražija
- Finance.si — Velik posel s trgovinami: kdo je kupil 13 Tuševih centrov in trgovin? — https://www.finance.si/velik-posel-s-trgovinami-kdo-je-kupil-13-tusevih-centrov-in-trgovin/a/9048470 — Author: Aleš Perčič
- Finance.si — 10 vprašanj in odgovorov: kaj morate vedeti o nepremičninskem IPO na ljubljanski borzi — https://www.finance.si/finance-vlagatelj/10-vprasanj-in-odgovorov-kaj-morate-vedeti-o-nepremicninskem-ipo-na-ljubljanski-borzi/a/9048478 — Author: Matjaž Lorenčič</sub>

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