During Q2 2020, gross take-up, which includes renegotiations, reached 360,500 sqm showing a slight increase of 13% compared to Q1 2020 figures. In comparison to the same period of the previous year, gross take-up decreased by 14%. The Industrial Research Forum published its Q2 2020 figures for the industrial market in the Czech Republic.

Belgian property developer Weerts bought a 30-hectare lot from Erste Real Estate near Budapest, advisory firm VLK Cresa said in a statement.

M7 Real Estate has undertaken its first acquisition on behalf of M7 CEREF II, its value-add opportunities fund focused on offices and logistics/industrial properties in key Central European markets, including Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Czech Republic. The investors purchased the 12,672 sqm Atrium office building in Katowice.

JLL and LaSalle have published the latest edition of the Global Real Estate Transparency Index – GRETI. As emphasized by the authors of the report, although there is a greater emphasis on corporate social responsibility and the use of new technologies, we are currently facing the slowest rate of transparency improvement since the period directly following the Global Financial Crisis.

Real estate developer Hagag Development Europe received the building permit for H Eliade 9 Residence, its new residential project to be developed in Bucharest, Romania. Construction works are scheduled to start this August. €16 million will be invested in the new resi-scheme. Over 35% of the available units have already been contracted.

The H1 data indicate that the worst-case scenarios regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Warsaw office market did not materialize. According to a report published by Cresa Poland, the second quarter witnessed a substantial volume of new supply which has now been almost fully absorbed by the market. A total of 100,000 sqm was delivered in Warsaw with an additional 700,000 sqm currently under construction.

Echo Investment has gained a loan for the construction of the MidPoint71 office building, that is being built in Wrocław on Powstańców Śląskich street. PKO Bank Polski provided the financing of the project. In accordance with the signed loan agreement, the bank granted Echo Investment €54.4 million in a construction loan, as well as a PLN 7 million VAT loan. Once the construction is finished, the construction loan will be converted to an investment loan. The total funding period ends on 30 June 2026.

Dywidag Systems International has leased 24,000 sqm of production-social space in Panattoni Park Ruda Śląska II, site for the production of Post-Tensioning Systems and Stay Cable Systems. The tenant was represented by Cresa Poland.

The modern retail stock in Romania, consisting of shopping centres, retail parks and commercial galleries with a leasable area of ​​at least 5,000 square meters, has reached 3.96 million square meters and will exceed the 4 million sqm threshold until the end of the year, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Total office market demand reached 335,000 sqm in H1 2020 on the Warsaw office market. In fact, demand for office space in Q2 was significantly higher than in Q1. Vacancy rates across Warsaw increased slightly by 0.1 p.p., with 770,000 sqm under construction. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in H1 2020.