The value of output generated by the Polish construction industry has reached an all-time high level on the back of several years’ investment upturn and it is expected to come close to €59 billion (PLN 250 billion) in 2020. In nominal terms, the market’s value is impressive, but it is less so when one looks at the volumes of construction work being performed and building materials used. A noteworthy fact is that the growth in the market’s value is boosted by rising prices of building materials and higher labour costs.

French AEW Europe and Hungarian Indotek Group have concluded an agreement regarding the acquisition of the Promenada shopping centre in Târgu Mureș, Romania. The 50,000 sqm building’s tenants include Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, H&M, Cinema City, LC Waikiki, New Yorker, Hervis and Media Galaxy. Indotek Group plans to renovate and modernize the whole building and plans further acquisitions to strengthen its presence on the Romanian commercial real estate market.

User expectations have changed significantly during the past couple of years and this is a challenge that most landlords do not take lightly. Mátyás Gereben MRICS, Country Manager of CPI Hungary talked to Property Forum about the changing needs of office tenants and the shopping centre of the future.

According to the panellists of the investment panel at CEE Property Forum 2019, sellers have become more cautious compared to last year when they thought the market was reaching the peak and they were going to get the best price possible. Prices, however, have gone up significantly in the last 12 months as the general lack of quality investment products persists in the region.

The Czech Republic has one of the longest and most complicated building procedures in the world and is ranked 156 out of 190 countries observed by The World Bank. Fortunately for real estate developers, the situation is slowly changing. Erwin Hanslik MRICS, Partner and CEE Head of Real Estate at Taylor Wessing talked to us about the legal and regulatory challenges investors and developers need to face in the Czech Republic.

During its reconstruction, Eden Park Handlowy in Zgorzelec, Poland has changed its format from a shopping centre into a retail park with the total GLA increasing to 10,000 sqm. At the moment the park is actively filling its leasing areas. Agreements have been signed with several companies recently.

OTP Real Estate Investment Fund has acquired the 26,000 sqm Roosevelt office building in central Budapest. The seller was Munich-based GLL Real Estate Partners (GLL).

Radisson Hotel Group has announced the signing of its fourth Radisson Blu property in Romania, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cluj-Napoca – based in the regional capital of Transylvania. The hotel is to open in spring 2021.

Českomoravská Nemovitosti has acquired the BLOX office building in Prague's Dejvice district for more than €77 million (CZK 2 billion). The building's primary tenant is Amazon.  The acquisition was financed by ČSOB.

Resi4Rent, the first institutional privately-run platform of apartments for rent in Poland, has been granted a use permit to its first building at Rychtalska street in Wrocław. Fitting-out works of apartments are in progress and soon residents will move into the building.