The lowest vacancy was registered in North Buda with a 4.4% rate, whereas the highest rate remained in the Periphery submarket (31.4%). Net absorption has remained positive by the end of the second quarter, amounting to 33,720 sqm, Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

Penta Group has expanded its real estate portfolio in the centre of Prague by another building. In an e-auction, Penta was the only bidder to acquire the former post office building at Masaryk railway station in Hybernská Street for a bid price of CZK 220 million. Now the contract will be signed and the price will be paid. Both parties to the transaction have confirmed it to the Czech Press Agency.

In the first half of 2022, office take-up in Warsaw hit a record high of 479,400 sqm, representing a year-on-year increase of 94%. Savills forecasts that the growing undersupply of office space will drive rental growth going forward, further accelerated by shrinking availability and significant increases in construction costs and office property management fees.

Panattoni has marked its debut in Asian markets with the opening of its first operational headquarters in India located in Bengaluru, the capital and largest city in the southwest state of Karnataka. Panattoni India is led by Managing Director, Sandeep Chanda, formerly head of strategy & acquisitions at Embassy Industrial Parks.

Property developer Alesonor has obtained a financing of €21 million from Banca Transilvania that will be used for the first phase of the Amber Forest project near Bucharest. The money will support the development of 294 green homes. 

Romanian developer Element Industrial has secured a loan of €23 million from Alpha Bank Romania for the construction of the first two phases of the ELI Park 3 project, part of the ELI Park Bucharest North West hub. 

As of May 2022, Alena Liškay Králíková is the new ESG Manager of Czech development company Crestyl. According to her, while thinking about ESG in real estate businesses, it is important that buildings are not only serving the company´s ESG goals but also their residents, tenants and the entire neighbourhood too.

Romania’s modern industrial and logistics facilities stock reached 5.6 million sqm at the end of 2021, which represents the third largest industrial and logistics market among 15 of the biggest economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). 

Developer AFI Europe has announced the completion of the Tulipa residential project on a five-hectare brownfield site in Prague 3 Strašnice. This latest, fifth phase with an eight-storey apartment building cost the developer more than CZK 250 million and will be the only one dedicated exclusively to rental housing with 61 apartments.

One of the main advantages of working in an office is the opportunity to be around colleagues. Social interaction in the workplace is known to boost creativity and productivity which is why companies are focusing on providing employees with more space for socialisation and teamwork. As post-Covid working habits are still rapidly changing and the reorganisation of corporate headquarters takes time and money, many employers are providing their employees with the opportunity to work from flex offices, according to market feedback gathered by CEE-based operator New Work.