Kraków’s office market is becoming increasingly polarised as occupiers favour well-connected, high-quality buildings over less competitive alternatives. For facility managers, the shift is significant: building performance, amenities and employee experience are becoming part of the battle to attract and retain tenants.
Kraków remains Poland’s largest regional office market, with 1.87 million sq m of modern office stock, but occupiers are becoming considerably more selective about where – and how – they want to work.
Gross office take-up reached 73,000 sq m in the first half of 2026, down 58% year on year, while net take-up fell by 27% to 36,000 sq m according to AXI IMMO’s Office Market in Kraków H1 2026 analysis.
Behind those numbers, however, is a more important development for building owners and FM teams: demand is increasingly concentrating on offices that combine location with quality, accessibility and a workplace environment capable of supporting new ways of working.
Vacancy Reveals The Quality Gap
Kraków’s overall office vacancy rate reached 19% at the end of June. But looking at the city-wide figure alone misses one of the market’s most important trends.
Vacancy in the city centre stood at just 10.3%, compared with 21.9% in non-central locations.
Location clearly plays a major role in that difference. Central offices generally benefit from stronger public transport connections and easier access to restaurants, retail and other amenities. But location is not the only consideration.
When occupiers have more options, the building’s performance becomes increasingly visible. Comfort, reliability, cleanliness, shared facilities, technology, environmental performance and the quality of everyday building management can all influence how employees perceive their workplace.
Hybrid Working Raises The Bar
The shift towards hybrid work adds another layer of pressure. Companies may need less space than they once did, but the offices they retain are expected to work harder.
This puts greater emphasis on indoor comfort, collaborative areas, amenities, connectivity and a frictionless workplace experience.
For FM teams, this means traditional operational priorities such as maintenance, HVAC performance, cleaning and security increasingly sit alongside user experience.
Existing Buildings Face a New Challenge
Only around 37,000 sq m of office space was under construction in Kraków at the end of the first half of 2026, 45% less than a year earlier. This limited development pipeline may offer existing buildings an opportunity – but only if they remain competitive.
Occupiers are prioritising modern offices with good access to amenities, strong public transport connections and high-quality specifications. AXIIMMO expects workplace quality and overall employee experience to become increasingly important in leasing decisions.
For owners of older or less centrally located properties, this raises the question of where investment can have the greatest impact.
FM Can Help Reposition an Asset
Not every building can improve its location. It can, however, improve the experience it provides.
That may mean upgrading building systems and controls, improving energy performance, modernising common areas or introducing better tenant services. It can also mean looking more closely at seemingly routine elements of facility management – from reception and cleaning standards to temperature management, maintenance response times and the usability of shared spaces.
Individually, these interventions may appear operational. Collectively, they influence how a building is perceived by occupiers and employees.
Building Performance Becomes Commercial Performance
Asking rents in Kraków remained relatively stable at €10–€19 per sq m per month at the end of June, despite rising vacancy. The highest levels were achieved in central locations and selected non-central buildings with particularly strong offers.
As companies consolidate their portfolios and rethink workplaces around hybrid working, operational quality will become harder to separate from commercial performance. For facility managers, that creates both pressure and opportunity.