Companies signed lease agreements for nearly 723,000 sqm of modern office space in the first six months of 2017. This constitutes the best ever result for Poland's market. In total, nearly 320,000 sqm was completed while 1.8 million sqm of office space remains under construction. JLL summarised H1 2017 on the office market in Poland.

The volume of hotel transactions achieved in the first half of 2017 was more than €700 million with 34 transactions recorded in core CEE markets. In comparison, 2016 achieved just over €630 million with 20 transactions in the same period, which means an 11% yearly increase. To compare, the western markets experienced just 0.3%. Cushman & Wakefield predicts the year 2017 to outperform the strong results of 2016.

Real estate investment flows into the Central & Eastern European region rose 17% year-on-year in the first half of 2017 to €5.4 billion, putting 2016’s cycle high of €12.2 billion well in 2017’s range, according to Colliers International’s latest report.

AFI Brasov has recently obtained the construction permit and will be the third shopping center AFI Romania is developing in Romania. The shopping center will offer a total gross leasable area of 45,000 sqm, 80% of which is already leased, that will be combined with two additional Class A office towers totalling 25,000 sqm GLA. The overall investment for the mall and first office building is estimated to be over €120 million. The entire project is developed to be LEED Gold certified as a green building.   

Skanska has launched the construction works of the Nowy Rynek office project in Poznan, Poland, A new city quarter, together with a market located in a complex of multi-functional buildings, will be developed on an area of 3.8 ha on the crossroads of Matyi and Wierzbięcice Streets. Furthermore, it will constitute one of the biggest urban enterprises in the history of Poznan as well as being Skanska's most complex developer project to date in Poland. During the first phase of construction works, the company will develop an office building offering 25,000 sqm of modern space. The first phase is expected to be delivered in Q2 2019.

Hines has sold the Proximo I office building from the portfolio of the Hines Russia & Poland Fund to the CSNF fund, which is managed by Czech investor REICO IS ČS, for €116.6 million.

Globalworth Real Estate Investments announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of Green Court Bucharest Building C. The transaction was effected through the acquisition of 100% of the shares of SPC Epsilon Property Development Company s.r.l., the company owning the asset, for a consideration paid to Skanska of approximately €38 million.

After spectacular 2016 economic results and a record-breaking FDI level of €4.1 billion, Romania’s prospects for 2017 look very promising. Bucharest, a specialized IT hub in the CEE region, has recently welcomed several new global brands such as Fitbit and the Coface Group. This influx has boosted the city’s office sector and is making Romania's capital city an attractive destination for investment funds. The yield spread between Western and even other CEE markets is still significant, with prime office yields in Bucharest at around 7.25%.

In H1 2017, the supply of industrial space stood at almost 793,000 sqm and as a result the total stock in Poland exceeded 12 million sqm. It was over 10% more than in H1 2016 when the level of supply amounted to 659,000 sqm, according to the latest report by Colliers International. 

In the first half of 2017, there were only approximately 30,000 sqm of retail space delivered to the market in Poland, half of which are extensions. The total stock of modern retail space at the end of June 2017 reached about 11,2 million sqm. Supply for 2017 is estimated at a similar level compared to the previous year (almost 400,000 sqm), according to the latest report by Colliers International.