European logistics take-up reached 31.3m sqm in 2022, 6% lower than 2021 which saw record take-up levels of 33.4m sqm, according to the latest research from global real estate advisor, CBRE.
There was over 22m sqm of new supply brought to the region throughout the year. However, the average vacancy rate remained low at just 2.6% in Q4 2022 compared to 2.8% in Q4 2021, partly due to increased financing costs, which contributed to a slowdown in the growth of completions. Whilst the vacancy rate fell year-on-year, there was a slight increase when compared to Q3 2022, as take-up levels slowed in the final quarter of the year.
In turn, average prime rents for the region increased more than 20% year-on-year, with a rise of 4% in Q4 2022 alone. London, Warsaw and Prague saw the largest increases over the year, at 38%, 36% and 32% respectively.
Focusing on Poland, the 36% increase in prime rents in Warsaw was driven by a drop in new stock coming to the market.
CBRE’s research showed completions fell 61% year-on-year in Poland in Q4, with a decrease of 72% when compared to Q3 2022. As a result, the vacancy rate in Poland remained stable at 4% in the final quarter, whilst prime rents increased a further 4%, highlighting the trends visible across the wider region.
”The tightness of supply coming to the market is underpinning rents at their current levels and whilst macro-economic conditions will make the year ahead more challenging, demand levels have remained healthy across a diverse mix of occupiers,” said Mark Cartlich, Senior Director, EMEA Industrial & Logistics, CBRE.
