The industrial market had a sluggish start to the year, with the observed leasing transactions for warehouse spaces nearly halving in Q1 2018 versus Q1 2017. We say “observed” because we believe direct (and unreported) leasing transactions probably add up to quite a lot. We expect this to prove just a temporary soft patch and probably the biggest argument supporting this view is our positive assessment of client interest for storage spaces.
In Colliers’s Industrial & Logistics Barometer for Spring 2018, we are launching an analysis exercise for the attractiveness of 30 cites (county capitals) in Romania for warehouse spaces and manufacturing activities. We took into account different sets of information, such as labour market data and distance to major border checkpoints.
Still, our results are not entirely faithful to actual market developments, highlighting the fact that objective indicators sometimes take a secondary place in the strategic decision making process, with business sense, specific opportunities and client interest weighing more. It is also worth underscoring that the differences between, say, the top 10 cities, were not as big based on the aggregated index of attractiveness.
