Business Forum • 19 September, 2024 at 11:25 AM
Romania's industrial stock totaled 7.3 million sqm during H1 2024, while new projects spanning 700,000 sqm were under various development stages, according to a report by Colliers.
Total demand H1 reached around 342,000 sqm in leasing transactions, a 24% decline compared to the same period in 2023, but still in line with previous highs.
Compared to previous years, H1 saw an almost equal distribution of rental activity between Bucharest and the rest of the country.
“Although down compared to the same period last year, the performance in terms of demand is far from weak. In fact, it is better than most of the pre-pandemic period, with 2017 being an exception due to its atypical nature. In strong years prior to 2020, annual rental demand reached 400,000 to 500,000 square meters, and we are now approaching those levels within just a six-month period,” says Victor Coșconel, Head of Office & Industrial Agencies at Colliers.
By sector, transactions involving manufacturing or light industrial activity accounted for nearly 40% of all leases, up from their share in 2023 and significantly higher than the 10-15% share observed before the pandemic.
The vacancy rate for prime warehouse space has remained in the single digits, typically around 5%, in most Romanian submarkets, including Bucharest.
All in all, Romania's stock of modern warehousing remains much lower on a per capita basis than Poland's over 30 million square meters or the Czech Republic's over 11 million square meters.
Going forward, Colliers' analysts expect the overall industrial stock in Romania to reach 8 million sqm by the end of 2025.