An industrial market snapshot of Budapest in Q1 2015 (HU)

In Q1 2015 the total modern industrial stock in Budapest, and its surroundings equates to 1,885,610 m². No new schemes have been delivered to the market.
The total leasing activity equated to 105,860 m², which is circa 20% lower than the previous quarter; however shows a significant 40% improvement on the average quarter activity registered in the last five years.
Take-up volume (i.e. the leasing activity excluding renewals) reached 34,890 m², which is only 10% lower than the 2010-2014 average, but however, shows a significant year-on-year growth of 31%.
36 leasing transactions with an average deal size of 2,940 m² were registered by the Budapest Research Forum in the first quarter of 2015. The highest activity was enjoyed in logistics parks: more than 90% of the total leasing activity was registered here with an average deal size of circa 3,400 m², which is almost 25% smaller than the 2014 average.
The vacancy rate continued to decrease further, standing at 14.5% at the end of March 2015, reaching its lowest level since 2008. This substantial improvement corresponds to a decline of 6.7 pps y-o-y and 1.2 pps q-o-q. However, the city logistics vacancy rate is 3.6 pps above the market average, standing at 18.0%.
Due to the fact that renewals dominate the market activity, the net absorption was moderate in the quarter, amounting to a modest 18,080 m².
Source: The Budapest Research Forum (CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ, Eston International, JLL, Robertson Hungary)