2017 was a year of dynamic growth on Romania’s real estate market and the stage is set for 2018 to bring just as strong results. Silviu Pop, Head of Research at Colliers International Romania put together 10 predictions for the Romanian market in 2018.

In 2017, investments in the Czech Republic totalled €3,274 million as indicated by a Cushman & Wakefield report. Contrary to expectations, they declined only slightly compared with 2016, which was a record year. The biggest transactions in 2017 included the sale of Olympia Brno, the CBRE GI portfolio (Nisa Liberec, Zlatý Anděl and Olympia Plzeň), Metropole Zličín and of the Letňany shopping centre.

Property investment volume for Romania is estimated at almost €1 billion last year, a value ca.10% higher than the one registered in 2016 (€890 million). Romania accounted for 8% of the total investment volume recorded in the CEE region (€12.98 billion, a 3.3% increase over 2016). The growth of the Romanian market exceeds the increase of the CEE volumes, but the local market is still under its potential, according to JLL.

Class A office buildings in the downtown areas of Gdańsk and Gdynia will finally become available for lease, complementing office provision on the outskirts of the Tricity agglomeration. Tenants are likely to move to new headquarters in more prestigious locations, says Michał Rafałowicz, Head for the Pomeranian Region at advisory firm Cresa Poland.

Prologis announced fourth quarter and full year 2017 activity in Europe. During the past year Prologis started 40 developments, totalling 917,500 square metres.

New research from JLL challenges traditional approaches to evaluating city competitiveness by encouraging the global real estate market to rethink city performance metrics. In World Cities: Mapping the Pathways to Success, published in conjunction with The Business of Cities, JLL delves into global cities’ performance to evaluate their strengths and opportunities for real estate investors, developers and corporate occupiers.

Last year, the total value of land transactions in Romania for real estate projects (excluding the industrial segment) increased significantly from 2016, exceeding the €350 million threshold at the national level. According to Colliers International, about 70% of this value was ascribed to the capital, where land transactions for residential development represented more than half of the investment volume.

In 2017 the large number of office projects delivered across Poland filled up quickly as occupier demand remained robust. Traditional drivers of demand were joined by emerging trends that are shaping the future of the office market and commercial real estate as a whole. Bolesław Kołodziejczyk, Phd, Head of Research & Advisory at Cresa Poland analysed the Polish office market.

The total warehouse and industrial stock in Poland has surpassed the 13 million sqm mark. In the period from January to September 2017, new supply totalled more than 1.6 million sqm and occupier activity remained healthy. A new report by Cresa describes the current situation as a golden age for the Polish industrial market.

Immofinanz refinanced approximately €1.6 billion of financial liabilities during the 2017 financial year. This volume represents roughly 60% of the group’s financial liabilities as of 30 September 2017 and covers extensions as well as new borrowings. The transactions will reduce future interest expense by roughly €18.3 million per year.