In 2023, the residential real estate market in Bulgaria is expected to remain calmer and more balanced than during the dynamic previous year. According to real estate agency Arco Real Estate, the forecast is for a slight cooling of interest due to factors such as inflation, the change, and the rise in mortgage rates, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Real estate market players are starting to recognise the importance of data but finding the right way to collect, analyse and utilise it is still often a challenge. Matej Leskovar, Managing Director at Slovenia-based software solution provider Imagine d.o.o. talked to Property Forum about this topic in detail.

The 12th JLL Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament of the Real Estate Industry will be held on August 3 at the Monta Beach Volley Club in Warsaw. The goal of this year's event will be to support the construction of the Ronald McDonald House at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute. Property Forum is a media partner of this event. 

ViaPharma has signed a 20-year lease agreement with the developer CTP for two Czech CTParks. CTP will prepare and hand over the premises, with a total area of almost 27,000 sqm and several specific modifications for the pharmaceutical industry, at the end of 2023.

The first phase of Skanska's H2Offices has earned a Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell version 4 certification with 84 points, which is currently the highest score in Hungary. Based on its accessibility features, the building also obtained the highest rating of Access4You certification, meaning Gold level.

On the occasion of Property Forum’s Living Investment Forum 2023 and under the umbrella of the RICS CEE residential working group, an online survey was conducted among large residential developers and management companies from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania with help from industry organisations and RICS professional network to get insight on what importance ESG considerations play in the residential sector in the CEE region. In the survey, 80% of respondents claimed that ESG is an important factor in their business decisions at the “strategy level”.

Metro Bulgaria opened its first renovated franchise site in Bulgaria under the name "My Store". The program is one of the main company projects – a soft franchise model that brings together independent traders under one brand.

Transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss has kicked off the construction of a new logistics project in Popești Leordeni, near Bucharest in a move designed to increase its storage capacity in the market.

Investment transactions in Romania’s commercial property market totaled €120 million in Q1 2023, which was almost double compared to the same period of last year. The deal volume was driven by industrial and office projects, according to a Colliers report.

Alexandros Diamantis, Managing Director of Medcity spoke with Property Forum about the company’s investments in Romania that reached €30 million to date and the new cities that have potential for new healthcare real estate developments.