Colliers International sees the most important macro indicator for CEE in 2019, Eurozone interest rates, flat-lining at zero. This should stem some of the potential angst over tightening credit conditions, keep liquidity high, buyers interested and help pricing to plateau. Colliers International foresees selective compression in capital city prime office yields and still like the logistics sector. Absent a Eurozone financial crisis, funding from lenders should remain a support. Colliers International published its latest CEE report.

According to JLL, CEE's real estate investment transactional volume for 2018 was in excess of €13.23 billion and recorded an 11% increase over 2017 (€11.92 billion). JLL has registered continued appetite from investors for the full range of assets across the entire region. Poland smashed its previous record volume set in 2006 (€5.05 billion) with a spectacular €7.2 billion traded, and secured a massive regional share of 54%. Poland was followed by the Czech Republic (€2.51 billion - 19% share), Hungary (€1.85 billion - 14%), Romania (€900 million - 7%) and Slovakia (€820 million - 6%).

In last 10 years, student housing has evolved into a highly appealing asset class, now ranked fourth for development and investment by over 200 investment managers. With student numbers growing and revenues delivering as promised, even during economic downturns, it is regarded as a crisis-resilient asset class, good for investment in 2019, according to a new study released by student housing research specialist StudentMarketing.

Construction and assembly output generated by Polish construction companies in foreign markets has hit an all-time high of €1.55 billion, but this is still below the potential of domestic contractors. Importantly, a considerable change to the structure of companies engaged in foreign orders took place in recent years – the centre of gravity has shifted from the biggest construction groups to smaller companies with a specialised focus.

The Polish commercial real estate market is in the best shape it has ever been, posting a record-high investment volume that exceeded €7 billion in 2018. Office and industrial sectors, in particular, are setting new highs with last year’s trading volumes at nearly €2.6 billion and nearly €1.9 billion, respectively.

2018 ended with a significant premiere on the local real estate market: Romanian investors ranked second in the generated volumes by nationality. Almost €200 million were spent to buy commercial properties (about a quarter of the total volume), a significant leap of more than five times compared with 2017, according to Colliers International.

Stable rents and yields unscathed by increasing supply of office and industrial space – this is what Cushman & Wakefield Forton expects to see on the Bulgarian commercial property market in 2019, according to the company’s latest forecast.

2018 was an all-time record year for the real estate investment market in Poland with more than 100 transactions completed with a total volume of over €7.2 billion, reflecting an impressive nearly 45% growth year-on-year, according to Savills.

In Greek mythology, Icarus flew too near to the sun, melting the wax on his wings and he plunged into the sea. According to Colliers International’s new research, this might be a correct analogy for the current state of the construction markets in CEE.

After the success of Madrid and Milan, the RICS is delighted to announce the European Retail Conference will return in 2019 in a brand-new location – Amsterdam on the 12th February 2019. The focus of the 2019 conference is how innovators, disruptors, and business model shifts are shaking up the retail sector.