It was an exceptionally strong year for the Bucharest leasing activity, reaching impressive levels compared to previous years. Tenants like LPP, Action, Aquila closed significant deals in the northern and western part of Bucharest’s outskirts and just these 3 tenants generated close to one quarter of the year’s leasing activity. Nevertheless, in spite of this seemingly imbalanced situation, the market is actually increasingly heterogeneous, with the average deal size for 2025 at around 7,500 square meters, quite far from recent peaks; for instance, the level stood at an average of close to 9,000 square meters per transaction in 2020.

It is also important to note that over half a million square meters in leasing deals represent new demand either for existing warehouses or pre-leases, making the overall result even more impressive. Otherwise, the market was quite dominated by 3PL deals, as well as the retail sector, though it is important to note that logistics many time serve local companies involved, in one way or another, with the Romanian consumer. All in all, it is safe to assume that the private consumption scene generated at least two thirds of the local market.

We also note that last year saw a bit of a dip in terms of leasing interest for manufacturing purposes (just 11% of areas leased, less than half of the share we have seen in recent years). This is merely the result of market timing, as some deals have been extended into 2026 and it was quite a heavy year dominated by logistics. Nevertheless, we have seen steady and growing interest for Romania as a manufacturing destination, particularly amid the improving infrastructure picture – over 300 kilometres of highways will be completed just in 2026, based on government promises – and Schengen area entry as of 2025. So we would expect to see much more manufacturing activities on the local market (though a lot of companies prefer to own their own factory rather than lease it). We also want to emphasize the growing interest of Asian investors (Chinese in particular) when it comes to the local market.

Rents & Vacancy

Rents have broadly stabilized over the last year, with an average surface BTS warehouse in a prime location commanding a 4.5-5.0 EUR/sqm asking rent in Bucharest and the majority of the top cities. It is worth noting that before 2021, rents were well below the 4 EUR/sqm level, showing that a significant upward adjustment has already taken place. Meanwhile, vacancy remains in low single digits throughout most of the country (estimated at around 5%) and with a somewhat limited number of speculative developments up until fairly recently. Nevertheless, some more established developers alongside the new players on the market are set to bring some warehouses without pre-leases, which may offer some room for manoeuvres for tenants prospecting the market.

Outlook

With the market set to move past the level of 8 million sqm of leasable modern warehouses in 2026, the future still looks pretty bright for the local industrial and logistics scene. On a per capita basis, Romania lags behind CEE peers despite having similar levels of consumption per capita (or even superior to Hungary and Poland). This means that reaching 10 million square meters and beyond is not a question of ‘if’, but rather ‘when’, but we are even more optimistic for the medium- to longer-term picture.

Regarding the aspects improving the long-term viability of the local market, we need to emphasize the rapid changes happening when it comes to infrastructure. With the help of EU funds, Romania has increased its network of highways from less than 1,000 kilometres just before the pandemic year to 1,400 kilometres presently. Another over 300 kilometres should be due in 2026 and over 1,000 additional kilometres would be delivered in subsequent years (either currently under construction or in various stages of planning).Following the steps of CEE peers, Romania’s I&L sector has a lot of room to expand, with good fundamentals backing future growth.