Southeast Europe‘s real estate market is growing but most markets in the region have trouble attracting foreign investors. To make real estate investments in SEE more attractive, it is necessary to reduce investor risk by implementing legal, tax and public administration reforms and reducing corruption, according to the panellists at Balkans Property Forum 2019, which was organized for the third time in Belgrade by Property Forum and RICS. The conference was visited by nearly 200 real estate professionals from Serbia and other countries in the Balkans region.

Currently, less than two hundred public charging stations for nearly 4,000 registered electric and hybrid vehicles exist in the Czech Republic. Data of energy companies show that the number of public charging stations should increase to 1,300 by the end of 2020. Developers building charging stations within their new office, retail and industrial properties are also preparing for electromobility, according to Arcadis, an international company focused on consultancy in the field of construction, environment and sustainable growth.

Another excellent year for the investment market, record office lease transactions in Warsaw and the burgeoning growth of alternative asset classes - these are some of the Polish commercial property market highlights of 2019. Savills forecasts that next year the market’s performance will depend on the health of the global economy, and key developments will include the completion of spectacular office towers and mixed-use projects.

From retail survival and sustainability investment through to the impact of automation and major political and economic change, Cushman & Wakefield’s new EMEA insight report explores the major themes the commercial real estate industry needs to keep in mind next year.

For the first three quarters of 2019, the CEE region has recorded an investment volume of ca. €9 billion. Offices dominate the deal flows with a 58% share, followed by a much slower retail sector with 18%, industrial & logistics (9%) and hotels (8%).

The market value of office buildings in the Czech Republic and in Prague, in particular, has continued growing as a result of steady demand and insufficient supply. Yields from premium office schemes in Prague currently range around 4.3 percent. Aggregate investments in commercial properties in the Czech Republic for the first three quarters of 2019 amounted to €2.5 billion (almost CZK 64 billion), according to Cushman & Wakefield.

According to the latest RICS Commercial Property Monitor, occupier and investment sentiment remains positive across main CEE markets, even though the Czech Republic has posted its most subdued set of readings in four years. In many countries, demand for retail assets fell on both the occupier and investment sides of the market. Based on rental and capital value projections, secondary retail is visibly suffering in Austria, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.

According to data from JLL, Poland's supply of mixed-use commercial space has increased nearly six-fold over the last ten years. Mixed-use projects often require major revitalization and reconstruction, in a number of Poland's major metropolitan areas. Such projects include Elektrownia Powiśle, The Warsaw HUB and Koneser in Warsaw, Monopolis in Łódź, and Browar Lubicz in Kraków.  

The share of private sector student accommodation in Prague stood at 6% of the total stock of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in October 2019, up slightly from the 5% recorded at the same time last year, according to the latest Savills research.

There’s a lot of capital targeting real estate in Central & Eastern Europe but finding the right investment product remains a huge challenge. Panellists of the CEE investment panel at Portfolio Property Investment Forum 2019 in Budapest discussed the risks investors in the region need to keep in mind.