Contract renewals accounted for just 16% of the transacted volume and demand was primarily driven by new contracts and relocation projects. More than 40% of the transactions were pre-leases and consultants estimate the market will continue to grow at a steady pace.
Bucharest attracted 59% of the transactions signed in the first quarter of 2021, followed by Timisoara (10%), Pitesti (10%) and Brasov (7%). Demand was driven by various sectors, with logistics and courier companies (22% market share), along with retail and e-commerce (18%), and automotive (14%) among the most active.
Deliveries of new spaces in the first quarter of 2021 were limited. The most notable development was the extension by 10,000 sqm of the distribution center owned by Decathlon within the logistics park developed by WDP at the intersection between Bucharest – Ploiești highway and the Capital ring road. Online retailer eMag also leased 11,000 sqm in the same project in one of the largest deals in the first quarter.
The pipeline for the rest of the year is consistent, as developers currently have new projects with a total area of more than 450,000 sqm under construction in various cities.
Bucharest remains the main hotspot, with 55% of the new supply developed around the capital city. Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Brasov, among the most important logistics hubs, and Craiova, where a new 58,000 sqm distribution center for retailer Profi is being developed, will also see major deliveries.
Moreover, smaller cities, such as Turda, Dej (both Cluj county) and Roman, in the Moldova region, will benefit from new logistic spaces due to their strategic positions.