The average office transaction in the first nine months of 2023 stood at 1,810 sqm, which is the highest average of the past four years and close to the level of 1,900 sqm recorded in 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield data.

Industrial parks should become a powerful driver of the economy and a driving force for the development of the Ukrainian industry and its inclusion in the European system. The state has created the prerequisites for this: in addition to tax incentives, the draft budget for 2024 provides UAH 1 billion (€26 million) for a program to support industrial parks. Iryna Nastych summarised the situation in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum. She analysed how the segment of industrial parks has received a boost in development despite the war, what is the synergy between the state, business and local communities, and what prevents more active development of this area.

The Antracit development group is expanding its project team and changing its organizational structure. Zuzana Bajgarová has been appointed Director for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 

A new city area CTZone is under construction in Ostrava, which will be the centre of business opportunities and residential housing. Behind the ambitious project is CTP, which is simultaneously developing several other activities in the Ostrava region. 

On Wednesday the 15th of November (between 8:30 and 14:30) the Belgian Business Chamber (BBC) is organising the annual Real Estate Conference. The Real Estate Conference is an industry event dedicated to the investment market, real estate and construction companies. Property Forum is a Media Partner of the event.

At €3.2 billion for Q1-Q3 2023, CEE investment activity is at a 10+ year low (down 59% year-on-year). The pricing gap between buyers’ and sellers' expectations remains a significant barrier to seeing volumes return to the 5 and 10-year average levels of €10-11 billion. However, real estate fundamentals in CEE remain fairly robust.  Lower levels of vacancy are being recorded and some good levels of rental growth in certain sectors have been noted, reveals Colliers in its latest report.

One of the largest Czech banks, Komerční banka, is selling one of its buildings at 42 Wenceslas Square. However, neither the price of the transaction nor the new owner has been disclosed yet. The transaction was first reported by the online daily newstream.cz. 

Romanian developer IMPACT Developer & Contractor has completed a photovoltaic park in its Bucharest-based Greenfield Băneasa residential project. The company has invested around €2.75 million in the project that has a total capacity of 700 kWp.

Czech developer and investor Crestyl has strengthened its position in the Central European residential property market. This week it completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in one of Poland's largest residential developers Spravia (formerly Budimex Nieruchomości) from Cornerstone Partners, giving it full control of the company. Both partners initially bought the Polish developer in 2021 for PLN 1.51 billion (approximately CZK 8.5 billion) in one of the largest real estate deals in CEE. The price of the current transaction has not been disclosed. This acquisition will enable the integration of Spravia into the Crestyl Group, while further strengthening Crestyl’s balance sheet from the current €850 million to €1.3 billion, with the intention to grow further in both markets.

Investors and bankers are interested in closing deals in the Romanian commercial property sector and we might see more projects with bigger discounts next year, concluded speakers of the transactions panel of SEE Property Forum 2023, held in Bucharest recently.