Industrial developer CTP has recorded a net income of €130.7 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 21.9% year-on-year, while the like-for-like rental growth stood at 7.8%, mainly driven by indexation and reversion on renegotiations and expiring leases. The company’s profit for Q1 2023 was €225.4 million which is 274% above the figure for Q1 2022 (€60.2 million).

Aleksandra Gawrońska, Director, Head of Residential Research at JLL Poland talked to Property Forum about the current recovery of the Polish residential market, the stance of banks financing new investments and the possible scenarios for the nearest future.

The planned Highest Construction Office (Nejvyšší stavební úřad) and the system of regional construction offices subordinate to it will not be established in the Czech Republic. The construction authorities will remain within the municipalities, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports.

Swedish furniture brand Ikea has opened an expanded order centre in Mall Galleria, Burgas. It features 140 sqm of retail space, a new kitchen designing studio with a showroom and four additional planning areas.

The upcoming launch of the first hotel in Poland for the Barceló chain, operating under the brand name Barceló Hotels & Resorts, marks the final phase of investment for the Elektrownia Powiśle complex in Warsaw. It represents the completion of all planned construction work for the revitalization of the former power station site, which was conducted by Tristan Capital Partners’ EPISO 4 Fund and White Star Real Estate.

New office supply in the first three months of 2023 totalled 68,100 sqm and was delivered in three cities only: Kraków, Wrocław and Tricity. According to Savills, at the end of March, over 1 million sqm of office space was vacant, equating to an average vacancy rate of close to 16%.

BNY Mellon, an international company from the banking and finance sector, has leased all office space in the second phase of Skanska’s Centrum Południe complex located in Wrocław. The tenant’s employees will occupy approx. 20,300 sqm of office space. The opening of the new office is scheduled for April 2024. This is the largest lease transaction in Wrocław since 2020.

According to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute, the number of newly built residential buildings in the first quarter of 2023 was 1 289, and the number of newly built dwellings was 4,427.

Progress on ESG in the real estate industry has been seen since 2018 and sustainability considerations are shaping investment strategies and client demand, concluded speakers of the ESG in real estate panel of Romania ESG Forum 2023, organised by Green Forum and Property Forum last week in Bucharest.

Analysts at Bencont Investments have recorded sales of only 197 apartments in new buildings in Bratislava in Q1 2023. According to them, the unit price of available apartments remained at €4,900/sqm. In Q1, the supply consisted of as many as 3,229 vacant apartments in new buildings. Realisation prices increased by 20% year-on-year, but there was a 1.43% quarter-on-quarter decrease. Q1 2023 was thus still marked by weakening demand, according to the quarterly real estate market analysis of Bencont.