Just one month ago, we reported that February 2021 had been the strongest month for the past ten years with regard to the number of transactions in the Hungarian housing market. It now appears that the record was short-lived as there were 15,630 residential property deals nationwide in March according to the latest monthly transaction estimate of real estate group Duna House. The figure is more than 1,000 higher than in February.

Retailer Penny, controlled by German group REWE, will install photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of its warehouses in Romania. The renewable energy systems will be implemented in Turda and Ștefănești.  

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is boosting its logistics operations in Romania. Construction firm Plana-Innova was selected to build its new centre that will have a maximum storage capacity for 45,000 products. 

Romanian entrepreneur Liviu Tudor has announced plans to revamp Novo Park, the office park he owns in northern Bucharest. The office facades will be refreshed and solar panels will be placed on top of each of the seven buildings in the complex. 

Polish developer Cavatina Holding, which has been active in the regional cities of Poland, has recently announced plans to go public. Rafał Malarz, CEO of the company talked to Property Forum about investing in large mixed-use projects, the future of the PRS sector in Poland, possible changes in the retail and office markets and shared some details about the upcoming IPO.

CBRE has been mandated to manage the industrial portfolio of Cromwell European Real Estate Trust (CEREIT) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Immofinanz announced on 29 January 2021 that RPR Privatstiftung has concluded a share purchase agreement on the sale of its share in RPPK Immo GmbH with Revenite Austria S.à.r.l. on 29 January 2021 and that this share purchase agreement is subject to the condition precedent that Eurovea Services s.r.o., which holds the second share in RPPK Immo GmbH in addition to RPR Privatstiftung, consents to the transfer by 31 March 2021 at the latest.

Romania has development potential for retail projects in smaller cities, and five counties with a combined population of 1.8 million inhabitants are not covered by any modern retail schemes, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Real estate investor and developer GTC has appointed Ziv Gigi as Managing Director of operations in Romania. He has more than 15 years of experience in Central and Eastern Europe-based real estate markets, developing and operating dozens of projects in the office and retail segments.  

Hungarian developer Wing is set to start renovation works on the EuroCenter shopping centre in Budapest in the spring of 2021 with reopening scheduled for the spring of 2022. In addition to the international fashion brands, the shopping centre will offer its future visitors a diverse range of services, a renovated cinema, culinary experiences and a roof garden.