NEPI Rockcastle, the biggest owner of shopping centres in CEE, recorded a net operating income (NOI) of €241 million in H1 2023, up by 23% compared to the same period of last year over strong rental growth and leasing activity, alongside improved cost recovery

Romania ranks third in the top of the European countries with the cheapest housing, after Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece, with an average price of €1,417 per sqm, according to a Deloitte report. Homes prices in Romania rose by 10.6% compared to 2021. 

Offices might become hotels, hotels can be converted into apartment buildings and warehouses may serve as retail centres. But location, revenue-generating capacity and environmental considerations are the most important factors in converting successfully an existing commercial property, say experts of Hungarian developer Wing. Ernő Takács, Deputy CEO, responsible for hotels and retail at Wing and Chairman of the Association of Hungarian Property Developers and Gábor Angel, Deputy CEO, responsible for offices at Wing, talked to Property Forum about the challenges of changing the use of a property.

High demand and a lack of new projects have caused Prague's office vacancy rate to fall. It currently stands at 7.26%. The volume of new construction and refurbishments accounted for approximately 143,600 sqm at the end of Q2 2023, and the total market size was 3.85 million sqm. Benchmark rental prices did not change from the previous quarter; however, the price of office fit-out (equipping them with necessary features) is increasing due to ESG and modern standards. Such outlays can easily exceed €1,000 per sqm, according to a survey conducted by Colliers. 

The residential estate market in Bulgaria cooled down in Q2 2023, with a 15% decrease in the number of transactions compared to the same period in 2022. This was due to several factors, including rising interest rates on mortgage loans, inflation, and economic uncertainty. Buyers have become more prudent, not rushing into purchases, and often negotiating discounts ranging from 5% to 10% off the initial property sale price. These are the conclusions made by Arco Real Estate for Q2 2023.

In 2022, the value of transactions on the Polish commercial real estate market amounted to approximately € 5.8 billion, which showed that after the difficult years of the pandemic and the outbreak of conflict in the East, Poland turned out to be a stable market with a large group of investors interested in investing capital in our country and a wide range of attractive investment products. However, in the first half of 2023, we witnessed the previously expected investment slowdown. After six months of  2023, the total investment volume amounted to only around €800 million, which means a decrease of 70 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, says Bartłomiej Zagrodnik, CEO of Walter Herz advisory agency.

Industrial developer CTP has opened its first office in Asia in a bid to accommodate growing demand from its clients in this region for investment in production facilities based across Europe. The new office based in Hong Kong will be led by Jaromir Cernik, who joins from fast-growing fintech company Qupital, where he served as a Board Member and Director. 

Monica Dudău, Marketing Manager, Storia.ro & OLX Imobiliare spoke to Property Forum about the development plans of the two digital platforms dedicated to real estate professionals and the role of technology in streamlining sales in the local residential sector.

The Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel, which is to be built in the heart of Prague after the renovation of eight historic buildings, and was delayed is now moving forward again. The long-planned construction of a five-star hotel was supposed to be completed last year, but the new completion date is now set for 2025 at the earliest. The reconstruction will also include 26 apartments for long-term rent, writes E15.cz.

Mitiska REIM has announced on behalf of the MEREP 3 fund the acquisition of a retail park in the Slovakian city of Skalica and the development of a new retail park in Sládkovičovo. In a new joint venture partnership with OPC Group, Mitiska REIM plans to expand its retail park portfolio in Slovakia in the coming years.