While the future of the office industry was unpredictable in the early days of the pandemic, companies are doubling down on their investments in strategic office locations and preparing for a future in which hybrid work could become mainstream. Large employers still see the office as a central pillar of work arrangements and have made strategic acquisitions in the recent period.

Savills Investment Management, the international real estate investment manager, transacted more than €3.4 billion globally in 2021, including c. €2.6 billion in Europe and c. €670 million in Asia. Globally, transactions included around €2.1 billion of acquisitions and around €1.2 billion of disposals, resulting in a net investment of c. €900 million. The firm now manages approximately €24.8 billion in assets under management (AuM) as of September 2021

The Q4 2021 results of the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor indicate a continued improvement in market sentiment across Europe compared to the previous quarters, with progress particularly evident on the investment side of the market. That said, conditions remain polarised at the sector level, with the latest feedback still signalling a challenging set of circumstances for retail while industrials continue to post robust expectations for the twelve months ahead.

Thirteen years after the fire in 2008, the large Industrial Palace in Prague has begun renovation. Its reconstruction began on 1 February this year and should be completed within three years. According to the Czech Press Agency, the cost of the reconstruction is expected to be CZK 2.64 billion. The reconstruction will be carried out by a consortium led by Metrostav, Prague's City Hall announced.

Poland’s investment market continued to attract significant investment activity in 2021 with an annual transaction volume of €5.9 billion. A record number (166) of transactions were closed by 80 active investors, according to Avison Young’s annual investment market summary. The company expects that 2022 will see the great comeback of the office sector through increased interest in core and core+ assets in both Warsaw and regional cities.

CPI Property Group is continuing its efforts towards the takeover of Immofinanz. It has increased its holding in Immofinanz to 35.5% and subsequently also increased its offer price.

According to Savills, the last quarter of 2021 was the busiest of the year for commercial real estate investment, with 30 closed transactions and a total volume exceeding €628 million. This was the highest quarterly volume of real estate investment since Q1 2020 and a 23% improvement on Q4 2020 volume.

Investors brushed aside concerns about the impact of the omicron variant to make the final quarter one of the biggest of 2021 for European property, with major markets posting near-record trading volumes, according to the latest capital markets snapshot for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) released by Colliers.

Investment transactions on the Romanian real estate market could exceed the €1 billion threshold this year, considering the projects in various stages of negotiation, according to Colliers.  At present, there are several transactions in the pipeline worth at least €100 million each, and others are ready to go on the market

Real estate consultancy RE/MAX Romania brokered property deals worth more than €300 million in 2021 and almost doubled its commission income to €10.5 million.