Since 2007, when the European Investment Bank (EIB) issued the world's first Climate Action Bond (CAB), green bonds have evolved from a marketing tool into one of the fastest-growing investment vehicles. This trend is also visible in the real estate market and is expected only to strengthen, according to Colliers.

In order to sustainably minimize the CO2 emissions and energy consumption of its international property portfolio, CA Immo relies, among other things, on centralized energy management and green building operation.

Occupiers looking for quality workspace in Europe will face tough competition for the best space in the leasing market despite the most active period of new office construction in half a decade, Savills predicts. Newly developed offices set to complete in the region this year will provide 26% more space compared with 2020, says the European Office Development report.

Romanians are among the European employees that would favour a hybrid work arrangement that combines office-based and remote activities, according to a survey by Colliers. 

Colliers has issued a new report examining the surge of investment into life sciences and its implications for the property sector across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), identifying landlord and investor opportunity across established and growth markets as the sector is primed to grow significantly. 

Residential investment volumes across the CEE region have been limited and averaged out annually at just over €200 million in the past 5 years. The balance between private, owner-occupied dwellings and those that are for rent in CEE lean towards ownership according to “The Private Rental Sector: Has it found a home in CEE?” report just launched by Colliers in collaboration with Greenberg Traurig and Kinstellar. From the stock of existing developer/investor-owned, multiple-unit PRS schemes, the Czech Republic is ahead, followed by Poland and the remaining countries behind that. 

Total investments in commercial real estate in Slovakia in the first half of 2021 reached €478 million, which almost equalled the volume of investments for the entire previous year.

In the first year of the pandemic, the construction market of the SEE region as a whole remained in the positive, and further expansion is expected until 2023. The only exception is Bulgaria where a harsh transition is foreseen for 2023 when the 2014-2020 EU programming period ends financially. The massive growth experienced in the years before 2020 is not anticipated to return. around 3% growth is projected for 2021 and 2022, and a 3% drop for 2023. The countries with the largest cumulated growth on the forecast horizon are Croatia and Serbia, according to the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association’s 2021 Summer Construction Forecast Report.

The sentiment of Hungarian real estate investors is becoming more and more optimistic, which is reflected in their continuously increasing willingness to invest, according to CBRE's survey. Offices are expected to remain the most traded asset type, but demand for alternative investment opportunities has increased significantly. The biggest challenges of the coming year may be pricing asymmetry between sellers and buyers, as well as a lack of stock for sale.

COVID-19 has completely redefined what office means and companies have a lot of thinking to do when it comes to finding the right location for their workforce to work from. Companies are increasingly turning towards flex offices and according to Business Wire, the global flex office space market is expected to grow from $7.97 billion in 2020 to $8.14 billion in 2021 at an annual growth rate of 2.1% before reaching $13.03 billion by 2025.