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Boom in the office segment continues. According to Walter Herz analysts, in the first half of the year, over 300 thousand sq m. of office space were leased in the largest business centers in the country, outside Warsaw. It is a better result than the one last year, when in the corresponding period 260 thousand sq m. of offices were leased. Cracow holds the leading position in the regions, with almost 140 thousand sq m. of contracted space. - Demand for offices in the regions is generated mainly by modern business services sector. The companies representing these industries share in lease is at the level of 40 - 50 per cent, depending on the city. The dominant group are the IT companies - says Mateusz Strzelecki, Partner and Head of Regional Markets at Walter Herz. - Flexible space operators have also joined the group of significant tenants in the regional markets. Their participation in lease is growing both in Warsaw and in other cities. In Cracow, in the first half of the year, companies from this sector generated almost 10 per cent demand for offices - adds Mateusz Strzelecki. The largest facilities completed in the first six months of the year on regional markets include Business Garden and Nowy Rynek B in Poznań, Brama Miasta B in Łódź, and V.Offices and Fabryczna Office B1 in Cracow. Cracow is the fastest-growing market Investment enthusiasm in the office real estate segment is not diminishing. Developers are still working hard on increasing resources in the largest business centers in Poland. According to Walter Herz analysts’ calculations, a total of almost 850 thousand sq m. of modern office space is now being built in the regional markets, and a similar number of offices are under construction in Warsaw. According to Walter Herz, most investments are carried out in Cracow, where around 230 thousand sq m. is currently under construction. Cracow, which is a leader in the regions and second largest office market in Poland, will maintain its position in the near future. Thus, leading investors in the country are preparing their next large projects here. Cavetina is to built Klimeckiego Office complex offering over 35 thousand sq m. in the capital of Małopolska, and White Star is to implement The Park investment, which will generate 100 thousand sq m. of office space. Echo Investment is also to announce a new Cracow project. Cracow market showed the largest increase in resources in the first half of this year. During that time, Cracow’s office space resources have increased by about 100 thousand sq m. of space. In the second half of the year, developers are planning to commission another 70 thousand sq m. of offices in Cracow. The market will gain, among others, Tischnera Office complex with 33.6 thousand sq m. of space. In Wrocław and the Tri-City, the construction is neck and neck In Wrocław, where resources currently exceed 1.1 million sq m of office space, there are 220 thousand sq m. of offices under construction. Nowy Targ office building with around 21 thousand sq m. of offices and West 4 Business Hub project, which will offer a total of over 80 thousand sq m. of space, are under construction in the capital of Lower Silesia. Business Garden investment is also emerging in the city, which is the largest office project carried out outside Warsaw, offering 117 thousand sq m. of modern office and commercial space. Cu Office complex with 23.5 thousand sq m. of offices is under construction in the Wrocław agglomeration, as well as City 2 office building with 12 thousand sq m. of space and Centrum Południe investment, with five buildings offering about 85 thousand sq m. of space for lease. According to Walter Herz, in the Tri-City, which is currently offering almost 800 thousand sq m. of offices, around 210 thousand sq m. of office space is in the implementation stage. The largest market players, such as Skanska (Wave complex) and Polski Holding Nieruchomości (Marina Office) are investing in the region. Later this year, Neon - the last office building in the Alchemia complex in Gdańsk Oliwa, which will provide over 35 thousand sq m. of offices, will be commissioned in the Tri-City. As part of 3T Office Park complex, three towers will be built in the agglomeration with a total lease area of 38 thousand sq m. The largest companies are investing in Katowice and Łódź In Katowice, such investments as Global Office Park (58 thousand sq m.) by Cavatina company and Silesia For Business (40 thousand sq m) by TriGranit company are to emerge in the near future. According to Walter Herz analysts’ predictions, over 70 thousand sq m. of space is to be delivered in projects to be completed in the second half of this year in Łódź. Office building in the first stage of Brama Miasta (27.8 thousand sq m) by Skanska has recently been completed. In addition, next expected office openings are Imagine (17 thousand sq m) and the first building in the Monopolis complex. In the Łódź agglomeration, another building of Brama Miasta and Hi Piotrkowska 155 complex (21 thousand sq m) are also under construction. On the site of the former Karol Scheibler factory, Echo Investment is building a mixed-use Fuzja project (90 thousand sq m), and in REACT office complex, nearly 50 thousand sq m. of space is soon to be commissioned. Ghelamco’s P22 investment and HB Reavis’ project in Nowe Centrum Łodzi are also awaiting the beginning of the construction in Łódź. Less and less vacant offices Due to the increased investment activity, regional markets in Poland already provide a total of 5.35 million sq m. of office space. Nearly 1.4 million sq m. is located in Cracow. According to Walter Herz, in the largest regional cities, on average over 9 per cent of offices are waiting for tenants. In most facilities, the vacancy rate continues to drop. The least vacant space is in the Tri-City - about 5.5 per cent. In Cracow, which is developing the fastest, the vacancy rate reaches 10 per cent. Tenants, however, are eagerly signing pre-lease contracts there, thanks to which, despite the large new supply, the number of vacant space will remain unchanged. In the largest cities in the country, rental rates are slowly going up. The main reason of the increase in rental prices is growing costs associated with the implementation of new facilities.