In Slovakia, almost 330,000 square meters (m2) of new logistics and industrial premises are expected to be completed this year. Almost two thirds of them are already pre-leased. This results from the evaluation of the Slovak industrial and logistics real estate market by the global real estate consulting company CBRE.
According to the real estate company, the total rental activity of industrial and logistics real estate reached almost 180,000 m2 in the second quarter of 2024. Compared to the beginning of the year, this is a 92 percent increase. However, in a year-on-year comparison, the company recorded a decrease in rental activity.
"Compared to 2023, there was a decrease in rental activity, while it should be noted that 2023 was a record year in several parameters. Currently, the market is performing from 2018 to 2021 and it is essential that it stabilizes after two strong years," explained Michal Cerulík, director of the industrial and logistics real estate leasing department at CBRE Slovakia.
The largest area was leased within the automotive industry (31 percent). This was followed by the third-party logistics service provider sector - 3PL (27 percent), then the manufacturing sector (14 percent) and retail (13 percent). The largest volume of leased premises is in Bratislava and the wider area (45 percent), followed by the rest of western Slovakia (28 percent). Central Slovakia reached a share of 16 percent and Eastern Slovakia 11 percent.
"In terms of newly leased premises in 2023, the manufacturing sector dominated at the expense of the logistics sector, with a share of 54 percent. This is the migration of production companies closer to the end user (so-called nearshoring). In the first half of the year, the rental of production premises accounted for about a third, which indicates a still strong interest on the part of production companies," said Peter Slovák, research manager at CBRE Slovakia.
The average rent of industrial and logistics premises grew by five percent annually. Currently, it reaches a value of approximately 4.90 euros/m2 per month. Compared to the previous quarter, this value is stable, the real estate consulting company reported. In a quarter-on-quarter comparison, the premium rent increased by almost ten percent, to approximately 5.75 euros/m2 per month. The prime yield currently stands at 6.25 percent.
The vacancy rate of premises reached a value of 3.39 percent and is the highest since the end of 2022. The most vacant premises are in central Slovakia, where the vacancy rate reached 5.02 percent. The lowest vacancy rate is in the wider area of Bratislava (3.06 percent).
