2020 is expected to be a year of recovery, but many uncertainties remain, like those related to the vaccines’ ability to return everyday life back to normal or to potential jitters about the monetary policy at the major central banks’, which would have deep ramifications globally, Colliers International consultants predict.

Savills top picks for value-add investors this year are logistics developments in undersupplied markets such as the Nordics and Spain, short-term income sectors such as flexible offices and student housing, which are likely to recover in the second half of this year, and multifamily developments in markets with rising demand for rental such as Southern and Eastern Europe.

The developers of logistics and industrial spaces maintained their investment plans and delivered 600,000 sqm of new warehouses last year, according to JLL Romania data. Most of them were delivered in Bucharest and the surrounding area, with 80% of the total.

Long-term owner and warehouse developer P3 has signed a lease agreement with HOPI for approximately 33,910 sqm of warehouse and office space in the P3 Mszczonów park. The new building will serve as HOPI's central warehouse and HQ in Poland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left hardly any business or industry untouched and retail real estate industry has also been affected. The last twelve months were marked by three lockdowns that helped change the shopping habits of Poles, lower developer activity, and increase the popularity of smaller retail formats, JLL analysts say.

CPI Property Group has sold part of its Czech facility management business to M2C, which provides security, maintenance and cleaning services. Employees from the existing facility management division will be transferred to M2C.

Cushman & Wakefield Echinox has been appointed to manage Floreasca Park office project located in the Floreasca - Barbu Văcărescu area in the north of Bucharest, the largest business hub in the Capital.

Although the retail segment is among those affected the most by the coronavirus crisis, this does not show in the number of brands newly incoming to the Czech market. Whereas 24 new brands came to the country in 2019, in the crisis year 2020 there were 25. This year, the number of newcomer brands could be even higher – some brands postponed opening their shops to 2021 due to the corona crisis., according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

For Germany-based real estate investor and developer Trei Real Estate, 2020 was a successful year thanks to the fact its portfolio mostly includes assets that were hardly affected by the pandemic. Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate talked to Property Forum about the experiences gained during 2020, changing financing conditions and the company’s plans for 2021.

Opus Land continues to invest in Cosmopolis, a residential project near Bucharest, where construction work was started in 2007. €22 million will be allocated for the construction of 500 new homes and €7 million are for increasing the commercial area of the strip mall, SVN Romania, the exclusive agent of the project, announced.