Polish Property Draws Capital Again
Poland’s commercial real estate market opened 2026 with its strongest first quarter since 2022: investment volume exceeded €1 billion, and the recovery spread across logistics, retail and offices. After two years of caution, investors are again willing to buy large assets, but the market has become more selective, more financing-sensitive and more dependent on tenant quality.
Poland reclaims its role as Central Europe’s core market
Polish commercial real estate has returned to the centre of international investor attention. In the first quarter of 2026, investment volume exceeded €1 billion, the strongest start to a year since 2022. The market grew by almost 44% year on year, although the recovery remains uneven: investors are buying fewer assets, but transaction sizes are larger.
The shift matters for the whole Central and Eastern European region. Poland remains the region’s largest economy, with deep tenant demand, developed logistics infrastructure, large cities and resilient domestic consumption. After a period of expensive debt and asset repricing, capital is again looking for entry points, but not on the terms seen in 2021, when cheap financing encouraged more aggressive strategies.
The new cycle is more disciplined. Buyers focus on lease length, tenant quality, energy performance, location liquidity and potential income growth. Assets without a clear rental history or with unrealistic seller expectations remain harder to trade.
Logistics becomes the main engine
Industrial and logistics property accounted for about 44% of first-quarter investment volume. This was not a one-off spike, but a continuation of a structural trend. Poland remains one of Europe’s key logistics hubs because of its position between Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, the Baltic region and Ukraine, as well as its motorway network and warehouse corridors around Warsaw, Łódź, Upper Silesia, Poznań and Wrocław.
Demand is supported by e-commerce, retailers, manufacturers, delivery operators and the reshaping of supply chains closer to European consumers. After the 2022–2023 shock linked to higher interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty, investors again view high-quality warehouses as defensive assets with index-linked income.
Industry data show that Poland’s modern industrial and logistics stock reached 37.4 million sq. m at the end of the first quarter of 2026. Gross take-up rose to 1.58 million sq. m from 1.11 million sq. m a year earlier, while vacancy stood at 7.3%. This shows that the market remains large and liquid, but no longer scarce in the old sense. For investors, location, technical quality, occupancy and tenant retention now matter more than the simple fact of owning a warehouse.
Retail returns through parks and everyday demand
Retail property accounted for about 31% of investment volume, one of the clearest signs of recovery. After the pandemic and a long period of investor caution, buyers are again looking at retail assets, but their attention has shifted away from traditional shopping centres toward formats supported by everyday consumer traffic.
The focus is on retail parks, discounters, grocery anchors and assets in medium-sized cities. These formats proved more resilient to online shopping because they serve regular household needs. In Poland, the segment is particularly strong outside the largest metropolitan areas, where consumers value access, parking, grocery chains, household goods and basic services.
Colliers says five new retail schemes and six extensions delivered nearly 70,000 sq. m of new retail space in Poland in the first quarter of 2026, while retail parks remained the strongest and most resilient format. For investors, this means retail is no longer treated as a single risky sector. A well-located asset with a grocery anchor and a clear catchment area is valued differently from an outdated shopping centre without a renewed concept.
Offices recover more cautiously
The office sector accounted for about 24% of investment volume. That is less than logistics and retail, but enough to signal a gradual return of interest. Buyers are again looking at offices, although the market remains sharply divided. Prime buildings in Warsaw and major regional cities retain liquidity, while older assets with high energy use and weaker occupancy require discounts or capital expenditure.
After the spread of hybrid work, the office market became more demanding. Tenants are optimising space, but they are not abandoning high-quality locations. Companies prefer buildings close to transport, with modern technical systems, environmental certificates, flexible floorplates and employee amenities.
For investors, this creates a wider gap between prime and secondary assets. An office building in central Warsaw with a long lease to a strong tenant can again attract capital. An office in a weaker location without modernisation must compete not only on price, but also on the cost of future upgrades.
Large deals return, but the market narrows
A strong first quarter does not mean a return to an overheated market. The number of transactions fell, and investment activity became more concentrated. Buyers are willing to close large deals, but only where the economics are clear: stable cash flow, strong tenants, transparent legal structure and realistic pricing.
All three largest commercial transactions in the first quarter exceeded €100 million. That is an important signal: large capital can again make decisions on Polish assets despite high financing costs and regional geopolitical uncertainty. But liquidity has not fully recovered. The market still depends on sellers adjusting price expectations and buyers securing debt on acceptable terms.
Asian capital was another signal, including the transaction involving the Booster Zabrze logistics asset in Silesia. For Poland, this matters because the market has traditionally drawn European, US and South African funds. A wider buyer base increases competition for quality assets and can support pricing in the best segments.