Office demand in Poland rises 22% year-on-year in Q1 2025
Tenant activity in Poland’s office market rose by an average of 22% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield. Demand increased by 16% in Warsaw and by 27% in regional cities, even as new office supply remains limited, with a market recovery in construction expected only after 2027.
In total, tenant activity across Poland’s largest office markets reached approximately 338,000 m² during the first quarter. In Warsaw, leasing deals covered over 160,000 m², marking a 16% rise compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, demand in the regional cities exceeded that of the capital, with nearly 177,000 m² leased — a 27% increase year-on-year. According to Michał Galimski, Partner and Head of Regional Markets at Cushman & Wakefield, the IT, services, and manufacturing sectors played a key role in sustaining demand. Renegotiations accounted for 48% of transactions in regional markets, while new leases made up 43%.
The report notes that over the past three years, the volume of new office space under construction in Poland has steadily declined. Despite the launch of some new projects, the total scale of ongoing development remains modest: currently, Warsaw has about 180,000 m² under construction, compared to nearly 750,000 m² at the start of 2020. In regional cities, the pipeline stands at roughly 200,000 m², well below the 850,000 m² recorded before the pandemic.
By the end of Q1 2025, Poland’s total stock of modern office space exceeded 13 million m². Completions during the quarter reached just 8,000 m² — the lowest quarterly figure since 2005. Cushman & Wakefield estimates that roughly 175,000 m² will be delivered in total this year, followed by 100,000 m² in 2026, with a larger supply wave anticipated only from 2027 onward.
The average vacancy rate in Poland at the end of March stood at 14.1%, a slight decline of 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter and 0.4 points year-on-year. In Warsaw, vacancies dipped marginally to 10.5%. Regional cities showed mixed results: availability fell in Katowice and Kraków, while vacancies rose by over one percentage point in Poznań and Wrocław. Across all tracked markets, the total volume of available space was 1.84 million m², representing a 2% decrease compared to the first quarter of last year.
As of March 2025, prime office rents in Warsaw averaged €24–27/m²/month in central zones and €15–18.5/m²/month in non-central locations. Rent increases were most visible in newly delivered central buildings, while existing buildings saw rent adjustments roughly in line with inflation.
In regional cities, prime central offices were offered at €13–17/m²/month, with higher rates observed for new or well-located properties. According to Jan Szulborski, Business Development & Insight Manager at Cushman & Wakefield, rising construction, fit-out, and financing costs continue to shape rental strategies in new developments, while rents in existing buildings depend largely on location appeal and local market conditions.
Source: Cushman & Wakefield
