The floor area of newly completed office buildings in the Czech Republic fell by 20 percent last year. This year, we can expect a renewed increase, but this will be driven only by previously completed projects, with virtually no new office buildings being built this year, according to an analysis by facility management company ISS Czech Republic.

How does hyper-personalisation differ from personalisation which has ruled the retail market for years? The former leverages transactional and behavioural data and AI systems to foresee consumer needs more precisely, to reach out with a bespoke and personalised offer, and to deepen existing brand-customer relationships and build new ones. Although hyper-personalisation-based solutions in marketing strategies were initially intended for online shopping, this trend is now opening up new opportunities in multichannel retail. Cushman & Wakefield points out the growing role of such solutions for shopping centre retailers in an increasingly competitive market environment.

Prague's Arkády Pankrác shopping centre is changing hands. The Czech real estate fund Trigea is buying it from the Israeli company G City for €265 million, according to information from Trinity Bank, newstream.cz reports.

Rebounding industrial production and easing inflation are helping the Slovak economy to avoid recession. In the industrial market, it is visible robust construction growth and demand surge. The office sector is resilient but vacant subleased spaces are increasing, while the rental rates are stable amid yield increases. Nevertheless, Slovakia's retail sector is facing challenging dynamics as market limitations amplify alongside a cautious expansion trend, largely due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Cushman & Wakefield reports in its Marketbeat Analysis for Q2 2023.

It has been a busy year for the European Commission’s corporate accountability initiatives, including updates to the EU Sustainable Finance portfolio. These policy changes, reflecting the Commission’s focus on improving the energy performance of the EU building stock, are consequential for EU real estate investors and developers.  New sustainability-linked financing models and Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) ratings standardisation complement the European Green Deal by directing financing to real estate construction and renovation that maximises energy performance. These programs enable EU real estate investors and builders to collaboratively reduce energy use and meet the EU Climate Law’s 2030 goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by fifty-five percent. Strategic policy and research consultant Lisa Chase has summarised the policy framework for Property Forum.

1.2 billion sqm of space is required globally in the next decade to satisfy the growing demand for the top three ‘alternative’ property sectors, providing a major opportunity for investors, says Savills.

The mixed-use property development Liberty by Hungarian developer Wing has reached a major milestone. The office area in the south wing has received its use permit, and the first tenants have already moved in. At the same time, a sports store is now open on the ground floor.

Archicom has absorbed the residential development projects, the team of employees and the land bank of Echo Investment. The General Meetings of Shareholders of both companies have given their approval for the consolidation of their residential business. Following the completion of the transaction, Archicom is positioned as one of the largest residential developers in Poland, while Echo Investment is focused on commercial real estate, apartments for rent and mixed-use "destinations" projects. The company's share in Archicom's capital will total 89.30%.

The completion of the industrial park in Choroszcz, a Białystok district, has been announced. The Czech investor made its debut in the region in 2018 with an investment in an industrial park in Białystok. Currently, Accolade owns facilities totalling approximately 80,000 sqm in the Białystok region. Both Park Białystok I and the nearby Park Białystok II in Choroszcz remain fully leased. All the parks in Accolade's portfolio are BREEAM certified and aligned with the specifics of each region.

Cushman & Wakefield has released a summary of retail market conditions in Poland. At the end of Q2 2023, there was close to 500,000 sqm of retail space under construction, seven international brands debuted on the Polish market in the three months to June while the expansion of retail parks continued apace. On the other hand, both retail tenants and landlords continued to face high inflation which impacted their real turnover levels.