The most important events in 2021 on the warehouse market:
Year of records Theyear 2021 was marked by excellent results on the demand and supply sides. The amount of space under construction exceeded 3.6 million sq m, which is the best result in the history of the market. In the third quarter, new supply exceeded the limit of 1 million sq m, thus the total stock of the market reached the level of 23 million sq m. Despite the high volume of new supply, the available space enjoyed great interest among tenants, therefore the vacancy rate did not exceed 5%. Development of emerging markets
In 2021, two of the emerging markets exceeded the 1 million sq m barrier. total industrial and logistics space resources - these were the Tri-City and the West. Another warehouse region close to crossing this border is Szczecin, the supply of which is currently around 900,000. sq m, with another 200 thousand. sq m in construction.
E-commerce drives the market E-commerce
services are one of the most important accelerators of the warehouse market development. At the turn of September and October, AliExpress, a platform belonging to the Alibaba Group, opened the first logistics center in Poland at Panattoni Park Łódź West. On the other hand, another Amazon distribution center was opened in Świebodzin, which is currently the second largest logistics facility on the Polish industrial and logistics space market. The share of tenant contracts from the e-commerce sector in 2021 in gross demand was almost 20%.
Last mile logistics
The development of the e-commerce sector is inseparably connected with the development of courier services. In 2021, the number of logistic operators of parcel machine networks increased significantly. The first machines were set up by Allegro, which also purchased X-press Couriers, which specializes in same day delivery. Courier companies are particularly interested in last mile logistics facilities, located close to large urban agglomerations. Developers notice this need and are delivering more and more objects of this type to the market.
Warehouses as a safe investment
Among all commercial real estate markets, the warehouse market was the least affected by the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and therefore in 2021 it enjoyed the greatest interest from investors who carried out several spectacular transactions. The largest are the purchase of real estate by Ares Management Corporation from Panattoni (300,000 sq m), Reino-IO from AEW (200,000 sq m) and EQT Exeter from Tristan Capital Partners and White Star Real Estate (160,000 sq m). ).
Forecasts for 2022 for the warehouse market:
high volume of new supply and demand indicates that in 2022 the warehouse market will continue its dynamic development, and tenants' interest in industrial and logistics real estate will not diminish. It is expected that in the first six months of next year, the total stock of space will exceed the limit of 25 million sq m.
Further development of e-commerce
In 2022, the share of gross demand of e-commerce companies will remain at a high level. Courier services will continue to develop dynamically - a greater number of parcel machines belonging to new logistics operators will appear on the market. The concept of "dark store", ie distribution centers and order preparation centers for e-commerce - closely related to the warehouse market, will also gain popularity.
Companies focus on nearshoring
Further development of the industrial and logistics real estate market is also seen in the trend of locating production closer to the home country or sales region, i.e. nearshoring. Many foreign companies decide to shorten the supply chain, including locating their production plants closer to the market. The Covid-19 pandemic has left some supply chains on a complete halt, leaving the world without some essential commodities. Therefore, many entrepreneurs who have learned from this experience strive to minimize such risk, incl. implementing the idea of nearshoring. Higher and more ecological warehouses
In 2022, more and more warehouses built in the new height standard of 12 m will appear. Developers are also paying more and more attention to ecological solutions in their buildings. There is no Outstanding BREEAM certified warehouse facility in Poland yet, but there are already Excellent certified buildings (eg Panattoni Park Sosnowiec I). The trend for more and more "green" warehouses will also develop strongly next year.
New players on the market
The boom in the warehouse market in Poland attracts new investors and developers. Since the start of the pandemic, several new players have emerged, and they are currently building their first industrial and logistics facilities, and are announcing further expansion next year. This is not the end of entering this market - in 2022 we can expect further development of interest in warehouse facilities among entities that have so far invested in other types of commercial real estate.
