“We see a lot of potential for expansion for the industrial and logistic real estate submarket, especially if major infrastructure works are to be delivered in the coming years, with automotive and retail being the most active drivers of demand. New and more restrictive EU rules regarding transportation are also likely to change the industrial and logistics landscape in Romania over the next years, increasing the need for regional storage hubs”, says Laurentiu Duica, Partner & Head of Industrial Agency at Colliers International.

Modern leaseble industrial and logistics spaces delivered in 2019 amounted to over 400.000 sqm, which means that 1 in 11 leasable stock was delivered last year. Bucharest accounted for 62% or a total of 284,000 square meters of all deliveries. Another 500,000 square meters are expected to be delivered in 2020, with risks to this call tilted rather to the upside.

However, new surfaces delivered last year are already leased, with vacancy rates remaining in the low: around 5% in Bucharest, while in other parts of the country, they can be as low as 3%, due to the high demand and the small area available in the completed projects. Next, the market remains dominated by projects built according to the specifications of the tenants, type Build-to-Suit.

In 2019, automotive was the biggest driver on the demand side, generating close to one third of the deals, or 141.000 square meters, followed by retail. Pirelli’s new logistic facility in Slatina was the most important development, covering 62,000 square meters. (Source: Colliers)