Europe’s largest privately owned hostel chain, a&o is set to open its first property in Budapest. The company has been searching for suitable properties for a year and found the right building in the vibrant part of the 7th district, at Csengery street, with the help of Cresa

In their early days, start-ups require a flexible working environment and usually opt for co-working space, which, however, is relatively costly in the long term. That’s why it’s important that they do not overstay there and move forward at the right time, says Artur Sutor, Partner and Head of Office Department at Cresa Poland.

Excellent warehouse market figures for the third quarter this year show that growth is being maintained in Poland. Demand has exceeded 3 million sqm since the beginning of the year, with 870,000 sqm leased in the third quarter alone. This result is 20% higher compared with the same period last year. An impressive 2.16 million sqm of warehouse and production space is under construction, of which 33% will be delivered on the market by the end of the year, according to a report prepared by AXI IMMO.

Mennica Legacy Tower has joined the group of Warsaw buildings whose construction measures over 100 meters. The high-rise building, developed by Golub GetHouse and Mennica Polska S.A. at the intersection of Prosta and Żelazna streets in Warsaw, will reach its final height of 140 meters in the Q1 2019.

IAD Investments’ Prvý realitný fond acquired the multifunctional New Stein building in Bratislava from MiddleCap Real Estate Ltd. The acquisition is one of the largest transactions of 2018 on the Slovakian real estate market. The transaction closed on October 25, 2018

The world of retail is transforming rapidly with key market players predicting the fall of secondary locations and the continued strong performance of prime locations in major cities. Rik Eertink, Retail Fund Manager of CBRE Global Investors’ talked to Property Forum at Expo Real about the future of retail investments.

GTC plans to start the construction of a new office complex, City Rose Park on Bulevardul Expoziţiei in Bucharest next year. The €100 million project will comprise three new office buildings.

CTP has sealed a long-term strategic partnership with Deka Immobilien involving three prime industrial parks in the Czech Republic - CTPark Plzeň, CTPark Prague North and CTPark Teplice. Deka Immobilien acquired the ownership stakes in the parks with CTP Group continuing to manage and operate the portfolio under the CTPark network brand. Including two development projects, the deal represents 430,000 sqm of premium industrial properties. The transaction volume of €460 million places the deal amongst the largest ever real estate transactions in the Czech Republic.

German funds have always been one of the main players on the investment market in Poland and the CEE region. However, in recent years their share in transaction volume has been decreasing. Currently, they stand at around 15% of the total value invested annually. New entrants from the USA, Asia and South Africa have increased competition for commercial property in the region. Poland and the Czech Republic are still the CEE markets of choice for German investors seeking to locate their capital in commercial real estate.

As we’re approaching the end of the current cycle, investors allocate more capital to more crisis-resilient asset classes, including student housing. Samuel Vetrak, CEO of StudentMarketing, talked to Property Forum about recent developments on the CEE student housing market. Samuel will also present about the student housing asset class and chair a panel discussion at the upcoming Portfolio Property Investment Forum 2018 in Budapest.