Development financing in Slovakia has been challenging recently because of banks‘ high equity requirements and stringent pre-lease/pre-sale conditions, revealed panellists during a discussion at Bratislava Property Forum 2025 about property financing. On the good side, interest rates are expected to remain stable, with Slovakia's financing costs closer to Western Europe than Southern markets.
The chair of the panel Csanád Csürös, CEO at Property Forum initiated the discussion by asking about the financing landscape for the year, seeking opinions on optimism or pessimism.
Juraj Šturdík, CFO at Alto Real Estate mentioned that prelease requirements for development loans have increased significantly, making it more difficult to secure loans. „What, in other words, means that you have to build the whole construction of office projects from equity or other sources,“ Šturdík added.
Daniel Mäsiar, Group CFO at Immocap admitted that while the situation is improving slightly, it is not as rapid as expected, and rates are still higher than pre-pandemic levels. „Furthermore, office development requires much more equity compared to residential, where we are much more likely to meet the requirements of a bank for financing,“ Mäsiar explained.
Danka Morávková, Head of Real Estate Finance at Tatra Banka noted that office financing is particularly challenging in Slovakia. „On the other hand,“ Morávková pointed out, „if we are talking about residential or retail and logistics, we think the market revitalises. Banks have improved their lending policies, allowing for higher LTVs and lower interest rates.“
