The commercial real estate sector in Ukraine is influenced by military risks, which significantly impact the dynamics of various market segments. Recent data indicates changes in the structure of demand, rental rates, and vacancy levels, depending on the type of real estate objects.
This is reported by Finway
Retail Real Estate Market: Increasing Demand and Income
In the retail real estate sector, key indicators are showing improvement. Consumer activity is rising, foot traffic in shopping and entertainment centers (SEC) is noticeably increasing, and there is active growth in turnover. This directly affects the income of SEC landlords, who benefit from the increased demand for retail space. Accordingly, the fixed component of rental rates is also showing an upward trend.
“However, not all SECs are equally successful: in the capital, there are several shopping centers with high vacancy rates, but this is determined by flaws in their business models. Nevertheless, despite the market’s vibrancy, developers have almost no plans for the construction and opening of new SECs,” noted the NBU.
Office and Warehouse Segments: Trends and Challenges
In the office real estate market, the vacancy rate remains quite high, although it has decreased somewhat over the past year, especially in high-class office centers. Tenants are taking advantage of low rental rates, often moving into ready-to-use Class A spaces. New office center projects are not starting, and only a small number of properties that were nearly completed at the beginning of the full-scale war have been put into operation over the past year.
In the warehouse segment, the situation is the best – demand for renting warehouses and logistics facilities remains high, and the vacancy rate among warehouses is minimal. Rental rates in this segment have stabilized, but supply does not meet the growing market needs.