Demand for office space in Poland is rebounding, with regional markets showing especially strong leasing activity while new supply remains limited. Warsaw continues to see the largest inflow of new projects, but recent data suggest that cities such as Kraków, Wrocław and the Tri-City are increasingly competing with the capital in terms of absorption. According to market trackers, leasing activity across Poland’s eight largest regional markets reached almost 217,400 square metres in the second quarter of 2025, marking a record quarterly result and a year-on-year increase of around 50 percent. In total, nearly 390,000 square metres was leased in regional cities in the first half of the year. Kraków recorded the highest level of activity, with more than 170,000 square metres leased by mid-year, putting it on par with Warsaw in the second quarter. Wrocław saw agreements for more than 80,000 square metres, while demand in the Tri-City exceeded 50,000 square metres. Much of this activity came from renewals, as tenants preferred to extend existing contracts rather than relocate, reflecting both cost considerations and a cautious approach to expansion. In Warsaw, gross take-up in the first half of the year was close to 300,000 square metres, similar to the level seen a year earlier. Second-quarter leasing amounted to about 155,000 square metres, again dominated by renegotiations. At the same time, new completions in the capital reached approximately 85,000 square metres in the first half of 2025, the highest half-year figure since 2022. The most notable projects included The Bridge, a 47,000 square metre tower delivered by Ghelamco, and Office House, a 27,800 square metre building that forms part of the Towarowa 22 mixed-use complex. With these completions, Warsaw’s vacancy rate has remained stable at around 10.8 percent, with availability in the city centre dropping below 8 percent as tenants continued to favour high-quality, centrally located space. By contrast, regional markets saw almost no significant new supply during the first half of the year. Only a small project in Poznań was completed, underlining the reluctance of developers to break ground amid high construction costs and vacancy rates that still average more than 17 percent across the regions. Nationwide, around 330,000 to 350,000 square metres of offices are currently under construction, split between roughly 140,000 square metres in Warsaw and 209,000 square metres across regional cities. In Kraków, about 65,000 square metres of new space is underway, while Poznań has more than 50,000 square metres under construction. Looking ahead, Warsaw is expected to see the delivery of further large projects in the second half of the year, including V-Tower and Studio A, which will add more than 50,000 square metres combined. Other landmark schemes currently underway include Skyliner II, Upper One and additional phases of the Towarowa 22 and VIBE complexes. Outside the capital, the pipeline remains limited, suggesting that supply constraints will support rental stability in prime regional projects even as overall vacancy stays high. The outlook for Poland’s office sector highlights a two-speed market. In both Warsaw and the regions, occupiers are focusing on prime, ESG-compliant properties in central locations, while older stock in peripheral areas continues to face weaker demand. With leasing led by renewals and expansions from IT and business services companies, the market appears to be stabilising after several years of adjustment. The limited pipeline should allow landlords of top-tier assets to maintain pricing power, while tenants in outdated buildings will continue to hold greater leverage. Source: comp.