Investors originating from Belgium had the biggest share in Romania’s commercial property sector in the first eight months, according to a Fortim Trusted Advisors study.
This year, a single Belgian investor, WDP, snapped three properties for a total of €207 million. Czech Republic is second via CTP, which bought a portfolio of industrial parks in five Romanian cities for €168 million.
On the third spot, there are Romanian investors that completed 12 transactions with a combined value of €139 million. Among domestic investors the highlight was Alin Niculae’s purchase of Iride office complex in northern Bucharest from Immofinanz for €45 million.
“We have seen a pick-up in office transactions in recent months, with a focus on projects that have proven their resilience and performance during the difficult period of the past few years. We expect this trend to continue in the future, given the lack of new product,” says Ștefan Oană, Head of Capital Markets at Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance.
By the end of August 2024, commercial investments in Romania were up 20% to €661 million compared to the same period of last year.
Nicolae Ciobanu, Managing Partner and Head of Advisory at Fortim Trusted Advisors, added that the involvement of local investors in the commercial segment increased significantly for the third consecutive year.
Across Europe, the investment market is also marked by domestic investors, according to the same study.
Domestic real estate investment (in one’s own country) was the driving force behind the development of the European real estate market in the first half of 2024, reaching a value of €42.7 billion. Domestic investors had a market share of 58% of total investment in Europe, up 7% compared to the previous year.
