The Bucharest Court of Appeal has ruled that 224 hectares of land in Bucharest’s Baneasa area, home to some of Bucharest’s largest retail projects and the U.S. Embassy, must return to the state. The decision is not final and can be challenged, zf.ro reports.

Growing investor appetite for industrial assets, a supply gap on the Warsaw office market and Poland moving up global ratings - these are some of the real estate market highlights of 2018. All the indications are that in the months ahead the market’s focus will be on alternative asset classes and the likelihood of an economic slowdown. Real estate advisory firm Savills presents its preliminary summary of Poland’s commercial property market performance in 2018 and an outlook for the next twelve months.

During 2018 the total commercial real estate investment transaction volume passed the €1.8 billion level in Hungary, marking the third consecutive year of stable and strong investor appetite and the highest annual transaction volume since 200, according to JLL Hungary's latest numbers. Hungarian funds were the most active purchasers with a market share above 50%.

The total value of commercial real estate investment transactions in Poland may exceed €6.3 billion for 2018, the best ever result for the country's market, JLL reports.

Hosted by RICS in Austria, the 6th Annual RICS CEE Event, held at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Vienna, aimed to answer a number of questions related to the future of the profession and presented how RICS, a solution leader in the real estate sector, helps professionals become well-equipped to meet challenges of the 21st century.

Profitability of the 22 construction groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange continued in the negative territory throughout Q3 2018. Moreover, the third quarter of the year was the second consecutive quarter in which profitability reported by property developers was on the decline, though it should be noted that their earnings were still fairly decent and at a sound level when compared to contractors. On the other hand, financial results delivered by manufacturers and suppliers of building materials and construction equipment were solid

Another year in the commercial real estate market in Poland is coming to an end. Although the figures for the last 12 months are yet to be published, we can safely say that this year was definitely a good one for the Polish market. Experts from Colliers International selected 10 events that had a major impact on the shape of the real estate market in Poland.

According to research conducted by JLL, the flexible office space sector in Europe has more than doubled since 2014, driven by the development of start-ups, creative industries, and small- and medium-sized companies. Furthermore, the combination of high tenant activity with the business plans of the world's largest operators means that the volume of flexible space in most European cities will have likely increased by 20-40% in 2018 alone.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the total amount invested in commercial real estate will exceed €2.8 billion in 2018 in the Czech Republic. The market has been the most active in the fourth quarter when approximately a half of the total annual volume of investments has been transacted. Czech investors have invested almost €2 billion, accounting for 65% of investments in the Czech Republic. Of the total investment volume, 60% has been invested in Prague and the rest in the regions. The year’s biggest transaction is the sale of CTP’s three industrial parks to Deka Immobilien, a leading German investor, for €460 million.

The European property sector is expected to grow and bring new opportunities, despite continued downside risks, according to CBRE’s 2019 EMEA Market Outlook report.