The volume of industrial and logistics spaces leased in Romania in the first half of the year totaled 240,700 sqm, more than twice the level recorded in the same period of 2018, of about 100,800 sqm, according to real estate consultancy firm JLL.

Bucharest attracted most of the demand, namely 43% (approximately 103,600 sqm), followed by Slatina (62,000 sqm), Oradea (34,000 sqm) and Timisoara, with almost 22,300 sqm traded.

Given the developments in the first half of the year, JLL's expectations for 2019 demand are optimistic, namely a volume of transactions comparable to the one recorded over the past 3 years, around 500,000 sqm per year.

“We have to consider two aspects that can influence the level of demand. The first is that the industrial market has reported a record take-up over the last three years, especially amid the expansion of retailers and logistics. The second element is that most of the logistics companies have already consolidated their operations to meet the increased volume of goods generated by the rise in consumption in recent years,” commented Costin Banică, head of Industrial Department JLL Romania.

However, the demand for manufacturing and industrial premises may increase, especially driven by automotive companies. In the first half, more than half of the demand (121,600 sqm) came from manufacturing companies, most of them in the automotive field.

(Photo: Pixabay)

editor@romania-insider.com