Real estate developer Hanner has inked a partnership with a restaurant operator that will join the Fosta Fabrică mixed-use project, located near the Gara de Nord railway station in Bucharest. The company will invest over €40 million in the complex project, which includes the restoration and conversion of four monument buildings. 

JLL Czech Republic announced the appointment of Alexandra Tomášková as Head of Office Solutions effective 1 May 2021. In her new role at JLL, Alexandra Tomášková will focus on the office sector with direct oversight of the firm's Office Leasing businesses together with Workplace Strategy and Project Management. In her new role, she will also closely cooperate with JLL’s Tétris Design & Build and Capital Markets teams on office-related services.

The accelerated growth of work from home arrangements has generated a new market for office space that can be leased directly by companies that have ongoing rent contracts for bigger surfaces. At present, around 70,000 sqm is available for sublease, which is a record figure for the Romanian market, according to representatives of JLL. 

The average asking price for an apartment in Romania stood at €1,379 per sqm in March, up 1.5% compared to the previous month, according to a report by real estate portal Imobiliare.ro. 

Albania remains a dynamic real estate market, growing in both the retail and office sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic had a definite impact in the first quarter of 2020, but with the ease of the quarantine restrictions, the real estate market picked up and recorded higher than usual transaction volumes, particularly in the residential sector. Colliers Albania published its top 5 predictions for the Albanian property market in 2021.

The total stock of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Prague exceeds 28,400 beds. 91% of these capacities are in the ownership of universities and the remaining 9% is provided by the private sector, according to the latest Savills “Student Housing in Prague” report.

COVID-19 has fundamentally challenged and modified the way the global workforce interacts, socializes, and collaborates. Flexible working practices, including working from home, have been heavily adopted as the recent pandemic has forced a trial run of remote working for industries, businesses, and individuals across the entire world. As a result, sentiments towards office space, its value, role, and contribution to the operation of daily work tasks are now being reconsidered both by employees and employers. While the pandemic has boosted the shift towards integrating flexible workspaces into corporate real estate portfolios, the fear that the office will lose its relevance is not realistic. Rather than becoming obsolete, it will become an increasingly valuable asset in facilitating collaboration and driving business growth, writes Gavin Bonner, Vice President of Romanian office developer Genesis Property in an opinion piece for Property Forum.

In Immofinanz's Hungarian portfolio, several lease agreements and extensions of almost 21,000 sqm have recently been completed. Thus, most of the company's local office buildings are currently fully leased.

Local developer Nordis Group aims to increase its presence in the hotel business and attract more investors. The company has invested in two projects with high tourism potential in the mountains and the seaside.

Over 230 real estate projects in Romania have been certified to meet health, safety and sustainability standards and the pandemic has boosted the efforts of developers to meet targets for such ratings, according to Colliers.