Digitalisation of the construction permitting process has proven to be a significant obstacle to the development of cities and municipalities, according to the recent CEEC Research survey. In practice, it is still not working as expected. On a scale from 0 (completely non-functional) to 10 (fully functional), city representatives have given the system an average score of 3.40.

In the first half of this year, 777 new residential units have been sold in Brno, 26 per cent more than in the same period in 2024, with the average price of new apartments setting a new record, according to the current analysis of Trikaya, which has been monitoring the development of the Brno residential market for a long time.

The Polish Chamber of Commercial Real Estate (PINK) has published Q2 2025 figures on Poland’s industrial and logistics sector, based on data from advisory firms including Axi Immo, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank, Newmark Poland and Savills. The report covers warehouse stock, new completions, projects under construction, take-up and vacancy rates.

In the first half of 2025, CPI Property Group (CPIPG), owner and manager of 23 shopping centres and retail parks across Poland, signed 78 retail lease agreements – including new contracts and extensions – for a total of 14,900 sqm.

Urbano Group has secured a financing of over €16 million from BT for the development of Urbano Shopping & Living, a new commercial project located in the Cluj metropolitan area with a total planned investment of over €100 million.

The increase in VAT to 21% for new homes is having a direct impact on pricing and sales strategies in the residential market, with effects already becoming visible, according to Valentin Neagu, Managing Director at Crosspoint Real Estate.

GTC, a major investor and developer in CEE commercial real estate, has appointed three new members to its Management Board. The new executives, Jacek Bagiński, Mihály Ország, and Botond Rencz, bring extensive experience from the real estate, finance, and advisory sectors. 

The Accor hotel chain has announced the opening of its first international brand hotel in Alba Iulia. The new Mercure hotel is the tenth under this brand in Romania.

The office real estate market in Prague is reflecting the differentiation based on location and building quality, with proximity to the metro remaining a key factor influencing both prices and demand, describes Colliers in its latest analysis of the Prague office real estate market.

Adinel Tudor, CEO of EVO Properties, spoke with Property Forum about the ongoing transformation of the London & Oslo buildings into a multifunctional project following a planned investment of €10 million and the trends in the Bucharest office market.