December turned out to be a good month for construction companies and producers of building materials, according to the latest monthly report by research company Spectis, “Construction market in Poland – February 2021”. However, the outlook for the construction industry in 2021 remains moderately bleak, mostly because of a high comparison base of Q1 2020. That the second half of the year could see an upturn is yet suggested by higher order books reported by the top 20 construction companies.

The stable 2021 outlook for sovereigns in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reflects their robust economic growth prospects and strengthened ability to carry and reduce debt, which make their credit profiles resilient to the sharp deterioration of their public finances in 2020, Moody's Investors Service said in a report published today. Ageing populations and structural economic change will remain longer-term challenges for the region.

Manufacturing PMIs in CEE showed that the recovery slowed at the end of Q3 2020 and the carryover to Q4 2020 was small (and even negative in some cases). This assessment pertains also to the outlook, with new orders and output expectations either rising less or showing a slower recovery in September than in the previous months, according to Dan Bucsa, Chief CEE Economist at UniCredit Bank in London.

Employers may not unilaterally order employees to work from home even in case of a strong resurgence of coronavirus infections and this would require a mutual agreement under new remote work rules that can now be considered final. Home officing would also be supported by a lump sum payment of overhead costs to the tune of HUF 16,100 (around €45) per month, tax-free. There are, however, still question marks regarding health and safety issues, local daily Magyar Nemzet reports.

UniCredit Bank Austria's Purchasing Managers' Index sink to a record low of 31.6 points in April. A strong rebound is expected from Q3 2020 after the easing of lockdown restrictions.

For residential developments executed in brownfield zones a VAT rate of 5% will apply instead of the normal 27%, the Minister of the Prime Minister's Office announced today.

After the first loosening measures of Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, more countries of the region plan to start gradually scaling back the regulations imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hungary's economy could rebound with 4.2% GDP growth in 2021 following a 3.1% contraction this year, according to a forecast by the International Monetary Fund published on Tuesday. According to the IMF, Hungary's economy is surprisingly resilient to the crisis, with only Serbia expected to do slightly better this year in the region.

Countries in CEE acted early by closing their borders and introducing lockdown measures in response to the pandemic. Now, Austria and the Czech Republic are among the first in Europe to begin lifting their coronavirus restrictions.

The topic of Property Forum’s second online panel was the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on real estate financing in CEE. After the economic outlook of Commerzbank’s Senior EM Strategist, Tatha Ghose, four expert bankers discussed the short and long-term effects of the pandemic, such as how the lockdown affects ongoing deals, what kind of recession are we looking at and how the perception of individual asset classes may change in light of the current events. According to the experts, the recovery is expected to take longer in Hungary and Poland, while the rebound may come sooner in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.