Property investments in Romania totaled €919.4 million during 2021, with Austrian investment dominating the rank among foreign players closing deals on the local market. Last year, Austrian investors bought office and retail spaces with a combined value of €323 million. Czech and Hungarian property players had shares of €173 million and €150 million, respectively, according to a report by real estate consultancy Fortim, a member of BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance. 

Construction of the new metro line in Prague is in sight. In the second week of March this year, the Ministry of Transport decided to reject the appeal of the opponents of the construction, who had originally appealed against the issuance of a building permit for the construction of the new metro line D. The Prague City Transport Company (DPP) is now waiting for the deadline for the decision to come into force. Then it can start the construction, the Czech Press Agency reported.

As technology has taken an increasingly important strategic role in the evolution and development of real estate, the challenges facing the people leading that innovation charge are becoming apparent.

Build-to-rent (PRS), industrial and offices are the asset classes that will continue to attract investments in CEE this year, although a prolonged geopolitical crisis could hamper development plans, commented speakers during Property Forum’s latest online event which aimed to provide a property investment outlook for 2022.

Reducing carbon emissions is surely becoming a top priority for landlords especially since numerous investors have committed to reaching net-zero emissions. At the same time, they’re also discovering that digital tools can help improve occupancy in office buildings which often stand half-empty these days due to widespread remote working. It’s high time for the industry to use disruptive technology and invest in digitization to improve utilization of space and reduce carbon emissions, says a new report on ESG and digitalization in the office market by workcloud24.

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (pbb) concluded the 2021 financial year with a pre-tax profit of €242 million, thereby exceeding by 60% the previous year’s results, which were burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted such a unified response from the international business community that has probably not been observed since the creation of the internet. Companies across the world are standing with Ukraine, discontinuing their operations in Russia and taking their part in helping the victims of the war. Real estate companies in CEE have also stepped up to donate money, space and other resources to those in need. We’ve compiled a list of the humanitarian efforts announced by local and global companies. Luckily, the list below is not complete as many new announcements are made every day. We’ll keep updating it.

On 15-18 March, the team of CEE-based proptech company Maxify will showcase their innovative product at international real estate fair MIPIM for the first time.

VGP has announced a charitable contribution of €3 million to support refugees from Ukraine in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Futureal-Cordia-HelloParks Group and its employees have made a number of commitments to help refugees from Ukraine.