In 2019 the volume of property investment transactions on the Hungarian market decreased slightly in comparison with the previous year (€1.75 billion), however, the total value of transactions has been higher than €1.5 billion every year since 2016. There was a strong and stable demand for office and retail properties, with the volume of hotel sales also increasing significantly, according to Eston International’s H2 2019 investment market report.

CPI Property Group published its unaudited profit and credit estimates for the financial year ended 31 December 2019.

In the last five years, the Romanian real estate market has attracted over 20 new investors from all over the world, the most active of them making acquisitions with a total value of approximately €1.5 billion, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Over 250 buildings and real estate projects in Romania have been certified as ‘green buildings’ after one of the international sustainable schemes, BREEAM, LEED, EDGE and WELL, according to data by green building consultant BuildGreen.

According to JLL, CEE's real estate investment volume for 2019 hit €14.0 billion. Poland registered over 55% of this total (€7.7 billion) and was followed by the Czech Republic (€3.1 billion), Hungary (€1.7 billion), Slovakia (approx. €770 million), and Romania (approx. €683 million).

Business confidence among Polish construction companies tumbled early this year, with the heaviest burden, as perceived by the enterprises, coming from labour costs and tax levies. Decline in confidence is chiefly due to such factors as an over 15% increase in the minimum wage and a 10% hike in social insurance contributions faced by sole traders operating in the construction industry. On top of that, large construction businesses are required to conduct Employee Capital Schemes (PPK) or the alternative solution of Employee Pensions Schemes (PPE).

Last year brought yet another record on the Polish investment market. Throughout 2019, the total transaction volume amounted to €7.8 billion which is higher 2018’s figure of €7.2 billion). Thus, Poland has once again proved that it is an attractive and increasingly more liquid market, according to Avison Young’s latest investment market report.

Student housing continued its record growth last year, booking over €9bn in international transactions, excluding the US. As student numbers are growing faster than supply, the asset class remains a top-4 sector prospect for investments in 2020, as shown by a recent study carried out by global research specialist Bonard.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and its alliance partner Facility Management Netherlands (FMN) have announced that in 2020 World Workplace Europe will again be held at the Kromhouthal in Amsterdam, 18 to 20 March. Property Forum is proud to support the event as media partner.

Sustainability is top of the agenda this year at Davos as governments and businesses around the world are grappling with ways to combat climate change. Of the four global issues the World Economic Forum has said “clearly stand out as urgent and important” at the annual meeting in Switzerland, the first two are how to address environmental challenges harming our ecology and economy, and figuring out how to transform industries to achieve more sustainable business models. The built environment has a huge role to play in developing and implementing solutions, with technology, investment and robust governance central to success, according to the City Momentum Index report from JLL.