Property investments in Romania up 8.7% in past two years

In total, 78 assets have been transacted over the past two years, with an average of €25.5 million per property compared 72 assets in 2018-2019 with an average transaction amount of €23.65 million.

“Offices have been the most traded asset class in both analysed periods, and our forecast shows there is further interest in this type of projects,” said agency representatives.

Around 225,000 sqm of new offices spaces in Bucharest are slated for delivery by the end of 2023, which will be added to the existing stock of 3.2 million sqm. In the past two years, the office sub-lease market has grown exponentially to a stock of around 60,000 sqm as more companies discovered that they did not need too much space due to the adoption of remote work.

In the retail market, new project with a total area of 140,000 sqm are under development, mostly in retail parks. Just two malls will open this year. Colosseum Mall was opened this March in Bucharest, while Alba Iulia Mall will be expected at the end of this year.

Romania is the third biggest industrial market in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), trailing Poland and Czech Republic. While the Romanian stock of industrial projects stands at 5.6 million sqm, on the Polish and Czech markets the total leasable areas reach 24 million sqm and 9.8 million sqm, respectively. Locally, another 600,000 sqm should be completed by year-end.

The high inflation coupled with higher utility costs could generate an increase of rents in the commercial property market this year, suggested representatives of Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. They added that prime yields could also compress further, especially in some transactions are closed in the industrial market.

At present, office and retail yields in Bucharest stand at 6.50%, while for industrial the yield is at 7.25%.