According to Colliers International’s EMEA Industrial & Logistics Hubs report, demand for industrial and warehouse property rose in 50% of EMEA markets in 1H 2018, up from 35% in 2H 2017, driven by positive occupier sentiment, and despite challenges in the overall economy such as protectionism fears and trade tensions between the US and close trading partners in the EU.
Although nearly 120,000 square meters of new industrial / logistics space was delivered in 2017 - almost the double of the figure delivered in 2016 - it may still occur that by the end of the year the available warehouse units with 5,000 square meters space will disappear from the Budapest market and its surrounding area, according to Colliers International's latest industrial property market report.
The industrial real estate market in Hungary hit the vacancy rate of 5.5% in the first half of 2017, which is record low, since it is measured by the Budapest Research Forum (BIEF, BRF).
The Budapest Research Forum (BRF, which comprises: CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Eston International, JLL and Robertson Hungary) sets out below its Q1 2017 industrial market snapshot.
Toyota Material Handling Hungary, the material handling division of Toyota Group signed a lease contract early 2017 for a 2,300 sqm warehouse and office space in South Base I., IPD Group’s logistics center in Dunaharaszti. The landlord was represented by Colliers International during the transaction.
Just before year end Colliers sold the former Bricostore DIY-unit in Törökbálint to Régió, the Hungarian toy company. The building has approx. 12 000 m2 of GLA and will be used by Régió for – according to our information - warehousing purposes. ”This sale is another example of an occupier/end user buying an existing building for its own purposes”, says Tim Hulzebos, MD for Colliers in Hungary.
Similarly to other real estate sectors, there is a clearly positive tendency during the last two years in the industrial property market as well. This more intense activity is fuelled by increased number of leasing and sales transactions that resulted into a net absorption rate outpacing the new supply. From a development perspective the market is experiencing a new turn, as a number of speculative projects were initiated again, which was not the case for many years, as since the economic downturn, developers were almost exclusively focusing on build to suit type of projects.
