Progress on ESG in the real estate industry has been seen since 2018 and sustainability considerations are shaping investment strategies and client demand, concluded speakers of the ESG in real estate panel of Romania ESG Forum 2023, organised by Green Forum and Property Forum last week in Bucharest.

Analysts at Bencont Investments have recorded sales of only 197 apartments in new buildings in Bratislava in Q1 2023. According to them, the unit price of available apartments remained at €4,900/sqm. In Q1, the supply consisted of as many as 3,229 vacant apartments in new buildings. Realisation prices increased by 20% year-on-year, but there was a 1.43% quarter-on-quarter decrease. Q1 2023 was thus still marked by weakening demand, according to the quarterly real estate market analysis of Bencont.

Property Forum is happy to announce the third edition of its annual listing of the 50 most influential people on the Romanian market. To access the publication, click here.

The commercial real estate market was generally characterised by favourable trends in H1 2022, but in the latter half of the year, risks associated with the business cycle increased in Hungary. Vacancy rates have increased since and are expected to go up for the rest of this year, the Hungarian Central Bank (MNB) reports.

As a result of a legal dispute between real estate tycoon Radovan Vítek's CPI Property Group and businessmen Marek Čmejla and Jiří Diviš, a Cypriot court has reportedly ordered banks to freeze CPI Property Group's assets worth almost CZK 13 billion (€553 million), according to the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt, cited by the Czech daily Hn.cz. CPIPG, however, denies the German newspaper's information, saying that the interim measure is not in force and that no accounts have been seized or assets were frozen.

According to speakers of Bratislava Property Forum 2023, many investors are in the price discovery phase, waiting to see what’s next. Nevertheless, during the debate, participants mentioned many inspiring possibilities that could drive investors to the Slovak market.

High inflation and rising interest rates seem to have bitten in overall consumption. And although Serbia is likely to avoid recession in the short run, its real GDP growth is estimated to be a moderate 2%-4% this year and next with a downside risk being the looming recession in the EU. The rental housing market has been supported by the Russian and Ukrainian citizens settling down in Serbia, keeping rent rates high. Housing construction is still strong and although the volumes in building construction are already consolidating, big infrastructure projects could sustain civil engineering on all-high levels in the mid-term, according to Dejan Krajinović (Beobuild Core d.o.o.) at EECFA which conducts research on the construction markets of 8 Eastern-European countries, including Serbia.

In Q4 2022, Hungarian residential property prices fell by 3.6% compared to the previous quarter. The Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) reports the sharpest decline was seen in smaller municipalities.

CEE, much like the wider European market, continues to experience subdued market sentiment, while Romania remains a positive light in the region, the RICS Commercial Property Monitor for Q1 2023 reveals.

According to Savills’ latest research, European offices and logistics are the two commercial real estate sectors most shielded from energy shocks as utility costs account for a relatively small share of total business spending.