According to international advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield, the beginning of 2026 on Poland’s office market was marked by occupier demand of approximately 255,000 sqm. Although this was around 20% lower than a year earlier, the decline compared with 2024 was only 8%. At the same time, following the completion of new projects totalling around 90,000 sqm, the volume of office space under construction fell to a new low of approximately 240,000 sqm. Prime office space remains firmly in the focus of tenants.
Supply: only around 160,000 sqm of new office space expected in 2026
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the total stock of modern office space in Poland’s largest markets — Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Tricity, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź, Lublin and Szczecin — stood at 13.04 million sqm.
“The total volume of new office space delivered between January and March 2026 was relatively high compared with 2023–2025 and reached around 90,000 sqm. This was due to the completion of several medium-sized projects, both in Warsaw and in regional cities,” comments Jan Szulborski, Business Development & Insight Manager at Cushman & Wakefield.
Among the largest office buildings completed in Warsaw were Studio A, offering 24,000 sqm and developed by Skanska, and Vena, with 15,400 sqm delivered by PHN. In regional cities, the largest new schemes included Swobodna Spot I in Wrocław, developed by Echo Investment and offering 14,650 sqm, as well as Punkt in Gdańsk, developed by Torus and providing 12,650 sqm.
Despite increased supply in the first quarter of 2026, the scale of newly launched office projects remains very limited. As a result, the volume of office space under construction continues to decline and is approaching historically low levels seen only in the early stages of the Polish office market’s development in 1995–2000. In Warsaw, around 120,000 sqm of office space is currently under construction, compared with nearly 750,000 sqm at the beginning of 2020. In regional cities, approximately 120,000 sqm also remains under construction, excluding suspended projects, while before the pandemic this figure reached around 850,000 sqm.
“The decline in development activity continues to result from the growing saturation of the office market, as well as persistently high construction costs relative to expected returns,” adds Vitalii Arkhypenko, Market Analyst at Cushman & Wakefield.
According to Cushman & Wakefield estimates, Poland’s office stock will expand by less than 160,000 sqm in 2026, including projects already completed. In 2027, the projected volume of new supply is expected to be even lower, at around 120,000 sqm.
Demand: a quieter first quarter, with new leases prevailing
Both in Warsaw and in regional cities, occupier activity in the first quarter of 2026 was lower than at the beginning of 2025, with more pronounced declines recorded in regional markets.
In Warsaw, demand in the first quarter of 2026 reached 133,800 sqm, down by around 9% year on year. At the same time, activity remained close to the level recorded in 2024, with only a slight decrease of approximately 3%.
More than 180 transactions were signed in the analysed period, including 34 deals for office space exceeding 1,000 sqm. New leases dominated the transaction structure between January and March, accounting for 51% of total take-up. Renegotiations represented 39%, expansions accounted for 9%, while owner-occupied space made up around 1%.
“In regional markets, total demand in the first quarter of 2026 reached approximately 121,500 sqm, which represents a decline of around 30% compared with the same period in 2025 and 13% compared with 2024. Demand in regional cities during this period was driven mainly by companies from the business and consumer services sector, manufacturing, and finance. The transaction structure in the regions was similar to that seen in the capital: new leases prevailed, accounting for 52% of demand, renegotiations represented 37%, expansions around 11%, while owner-occupied space accounted for just 1% of the total volume,” explains Ewa Derlatka-Chilewicz, Head of Research Poland at Cushman & Wakefield.
Vacancy and rents: slight fluctuation in vacancies and further rent differentiation by location and building quality
The average vacancy rate in Poland stood at 13.6% at the end of the first quarter of 2026. This represented an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, but a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared with March 2025.
In Warsaw, the vacancy rate rose by 0.4 percentage points quarter on quarter to 9.5%. Among regional cities, the largest increases in available office space were recorded in Wrocław, up by 2.1 percentage points, Szczecin, up by 1.5 percentage points, and Łódź, up by 1.3 percentage points. By contrast, a noticeable decline in vacancy was observed in Tricity, where the rate fell by 1.1 percentage points.
It is worth noting that most of the observed increases in availability resulted from the delivery of new office space to the market. At the same time, the pace of absorption, which measures how quickly available space is taken up, varies depending on the city and directly affects the amount of space available on each market. Over the past two years, the highest absorption relative to market size was recorded in Tricity, at 5%, and Warsaw, at 4%. In Wrocław, absorption was only marginally positive, at 0.1%.
In March 2026, premium rents for the best office space in Warsaw averaged EUR 24.00–29.00 per sqm per month in the city centre and EUR 15.00–19.00 per sqm per month in non-central locations. Rental growth was observed mainly in central buildings, both those under construction and existing properties. Rents in buildings outside the centre also increased, although at a lower pace, broadly in line with or slightly above inflation.
In regional cities, prime office space in central locations was offered on average at EUR 14.00–18.00 per sqm per month. Above-average rental levels were recorded in newly completed buildings or properties situated in particularly attractive locations.
Higher construction, fit-out and financing costs, together with local market conditions, continue to have a significant impact on rental strategies for newly developed projects. In existing office buildings, rent levels remain dependent on the attractiveness of the property for potential tenants and the situation on the specific local market.
