Bratislava's Aupark shopping centre, owned by Wood & Company and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, is adding another step to improve its sustainable management. In addition to sorting, low-energy lighting and water conservation, it is now installing hundreds of photovoltaic panels on its roof. The owners are hoping to make significant savings in energy resources, most notably saving 100,000 cubic metres of natural gas per year, reports the online daily Reality.trend.sk.

Sylvie Geuten-Carpentier, Managing Director Poland and Tomas Cifra, Managing Director Romania, Czech Republic & Slovakia at Mitiska REIM talked to Property Forum about the trends driving the convenience retail market and shared some insight into the company’s investment strategy.

The Prague office market in Q1 2022 experienced a further increase in vacancy, across the entire city. However, gross take-up recorded a year-on-year increase of 44% and thus returned to pre-pandemic levels. The increase in prices throughout the city is still felt especially in construction projects, mainly due to rising costs for materials and construction work, reports the Czech branch of Colliers in their regular survey.

The Polish warehouse market remained stable in Q1 2022, with a slight decrease observed on the demand side with 1.56 million sqm leased (-2.5% y/y). On the supply side, developers completed over one million sqm (+44% y/y) projects. A record-breaking 4.9 million sqm remains under construction, with factors such as inflation and rising material and contractor prices driving rental rates up. Not without matter for the entire sector is the geopolitical situation behind Poland's south-eastern border, which may temporarily increase the demand of tenants relocating their business from Eastern Europe in the following quarters of the year. AXI IMMO presented the results of the Polish warehouse market in the period January - March 2022 in the report "Polish Warehouse Market in Q1 2022".

Residential asking prices in Romania grew by 2.5% in May compared to April to an average of €1,751 per sqm, with Cluj-Napoca remaining the most expensive market in the country, according to the Imobiliare.ro platform. 

According to the latest, fourth edition of a survey conducted by Zymetria (an analytical and research company) on behalf of Skanska's commercial development business unit, after two years of the coronavirus pandemic, 9 out of 10 Polish office employees believe that the traditional office is irreplaceable. Today, more than half of Poles work in a hybrid model – this translates to an almost double increase compared to May 2021. In addition, the hybrid is also the most preferred way of working – it is favoured by 70% of the respondents.

Hungarian lender OTP Bank's new 84,000 sqm complex, built by Market Zrt. and called M12. It is 7 stories high, with a 3-level underground garage. 

The number of completed flats in the Czech Republic increased in the year 2021 by half a percent. A total of 34,581 flats were completed last year. However, the rising figures are due to extensions, while the number of flats completed in detached and apartment buildings fell. In the future, according to statisticians, it can be assumed that new construction will decline for many reasons, writes the Czech News Agency (ČTK) based on the statistics published today by the Czech Statistical Office (CSO).

Morska Agencja Gdynia sp. z o.o., a specialist provider of sea, land and rail freight services, will become a tenant of one of the two buildings of Panattoni Park Tricity East V. It has leased 22,800 sqm of warehouse space in a build-to-suit facility. The tenant was advised on the choice of location and during lease negotiations by real estate advisory firm Newmark Polska.

Radomił Charzyński, Partner, Real Estate Practice and Deputy Managing Partner at Greenberg Traurig Poland talked to Property Forum about the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Polish property market, current financial conditions and consolidation forecasts.