Where to do Business Next?

With money being mass-produced by governments aiming to mitigate the economic damage caused by the pandemic and interest rates remaining below zero, real estate has not lost any of its charm as a safeguard for a healthy return on investment.

If a recent 2020 UBS report is correct, cities like Munich or Frankfurt (for decades considered the crème de la crème of any sophisticated investment) are now approaching “bubble” status.

According to GAWC 2020 (Globalization and World Cities), Warsaw remains an Alpha city, a category that includes important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the world economy.

This category, which Warsaw tops and includes Stockholm and Vienna, highlights the pricing power of Poland’s capital. While core locations in Stockholm exceed EUR 700/m2 per annum and Vienna rental levels surpass EUR 300/m2, Warsaw levels remain at a moderate EUR 250/m2 for top locations.

What is more, developments in Warsaw are hardly “cheap”. The cityscape will soon be lit up by Varso, the tallest skyscraper in the EU; Warsaw Hub won the “Award of Excellence” in the world’s most prestigious skyscraper contest, the global CTBUH Awards, while Warsaw Spire was crowned best “Offce and Business Development” at the 2017 MIPIM Awards. At the end of 2020, the total modern offce stock in Warsaw amounted to nearly 6,000,500 m2, which can be compared to the vacant space in Paris.

Taking into consideration its population and role in the regional and global economy, there is no indication that Warsaw’s offce market will stop growing and catching up with cities like Stockholm or Vienna. If further cost-cutting ensues, Poland’s capital may provide an additional point of call for the relocation trends that began well before the pandemic broke.

Published: Real Estate Newsletter, No. 13, Summer 2021 l Photo: Mike Mareen - stock.adobe.com