Immofinanz has recently received takeover offers from both CPI Property Group and S Immo in the latest chapter of the Austrian takeover saga. During the last couple of years, the three major Austrian real estate companies – Immofinanz, CA Immo and S Immo – have received (and usually rejected) numerous takeover offers with mergers in almost every possible combination also having been discussed. To help its readers keep track, Property Forum has put together a timeline of all the offers that were announced since 2014.

Properties in the mountain tourist areas have become more interesting for investors, according to a report by Savills, with demand having grown significantly in the first quarter of this year. 

Romania is expected to see only moderate growth on the horizon. Serbia, having recorded the biggest expansion of almost 100% in the 2014-2020 period, is foreseen to plateau in the upcoming years, according to the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association’s 2021 Winter Construction Forecast Report.

Residential investment sectors are gaining traction across Europe, with the volume of capital targeting student accommodation, the private rented sector and purpose-built age-targeted housing continuing to rise, according to Knight Frank’s European Residential Investment Survey 2022.

Climate change presents new challenges for the real estate sector but also an opportunity to get ahead of the competition. The topic was discussed at Balkans Property Forum 2021, Property Forum’s annual event in Belgrade.

Despite almost all European office employees working from home last year, the empty workplaces did not lead to a reduction in the expenditure that companies had to fulfil had the workforce been in the office. The average costs per FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) fell by only 2% and amounted to €9,468. These findings have been published by Colliers, Occupier Cost Index (OCI), which comprises data from 29 countries, 3,990 buildings, 26.1 million square meters of office space and 1.96 million FTEs.

Immofinanz's results of operations rose by nearly 60% year-on-year to €180.4 million in Q1-Q3 2021 and even substantially exceeded the comparable 2019 pre-crisis level (+29% versus Q1–3 2019). Net profit turned clearly positive at €295.7 million and also surpassed the pre-crisis level in 2019 (Q1–3 2019: €202.6 million).

The total volume of real estate investments in the Czech Republic reached €328 million in the third quarter of 2021, being 24% below the previous quarter but 8% up year-on-year, according to Savills latest report.

The Warimpex Group achieved a solid operational performance in the first three quarters of 2021. The hotel segment in particular recovered versus the previous year and there are also successes to report on the office and development side, with two new lease agreements and the start of construction on a property. The Group’s result for the period improved from a loss of €31.2 million to a gain of €2.5 million. The result for the third quarter alone also climbed into positive territory, rising from minus €9.4 million to €0.8 million.

Investment market experts in the Czech Republic are concerned about the potential effects of high inflation and rising interest rates on the market. At the same time, they remain highly optimistic about the future of logistics and keep ESG at the top of their agenda, according to a recent panel discussion at Prague Property Forum 2021, moderated by Jaroslav Kaizr MRICS, Expert Director of the MBARE programme at VŠE.