The office market in Warsaw broke another record – total demand for office space in H1 2017 was 391,400 sqm. Wola continues to grow in terms of both popularity and significance. JLL summarised H1 2017 on the office market in Warsaw. 

Total real estate investment in Europe reached €74 billion in Q2 2017, representing a 25% increase on the same period last year, according to CBRE. Central Europe as a region proves to be more attractive to international investors than last year with Hungary accounting 15% of the overall investment volume.

South African fund Hystead has acquired of The Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in Bulgaria, located in the capital city Sofia. The acquisition, upwards of €156 million, represents the fourth investment in the region by Hystead Limited, a joint venture between Hyprop Investments and Homestead Limited, who previously acquired the Delta City shopping centres in Podgorica and Belgrade alongside Skopje City Mall in Macedonia at the end of 2016. 

The EPISO 4 opportunistic fund, advised by Pan-European real estate manager Tristan Capital Partners, has acquired the Avenir Business Park office complex in Western Prague from debt restructuring firm Lone Star.

CTP recently closed on two acquisitions, known among the CEE real estate industry as the Aviva and IPEC deals. The company acquired two buildings in the Czech Republic and two buildings in Romania. At the same time, CTP disposed of two non-core assets in Bratislava and Prague.

Panattoni Europe launched the courier parcel distribution centre project for GLS Poland. This cross-dock facility will cover approx. 7,600 sqm and is being developed in the BTS and BTO formula in Janki near Warsaw. Execution of the project officially commenced on 20 July and the actual project start-up is scheduled for February 2018.

7 million citizens of the CEE-6 countries reside in Western Europe and the return of even a relatively small portion of these would boost regional GDP, stimulating the development of real estate markets, says Colliers International in its latest research report "Labour Force Boomerang"

The vacancy rate on the Warsaw office market reached 13.9% at the end of June, with gross take up in H1 2017 nearly reaching 400,000 sqm. The Polish Office Research Forum has published its figures for Q2 2017 for the office market in Warsaw. 

Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate, a German based real estate investment manager, will acquire the Sagittarius Business House office scheme in Wrocław on behalf of an individual fund it manages for an institutional investor. The property is under construction and its completion is expected in Q1 2018.

Construction cranes are a common sight when walking around Budapest, marking the rapid property development taking place. Soon, scores of office buildings will appear out of nowhere. The changes are especially dramatic on Váci Road. Just a few minutes’ walk north of the metro station on Dózsa György Road there are three adjacent construction sites. But there are developments in progress all over the city, paving the way for new business centres.