In the first half of the year, there was a sharp decline in the volume of real estate investments in Poland. Despite the market recovery at the end of summer, the total volume in Q1-Q3 2023 amounted to only €1.7 billion. After the first half of the year with few portfolio transactions, in the third quarter, there were already four - in the warehouse and retail sectors, but none of them exceeded the value of €100 million. Interestingly, despite the turmoil, the Polish investment market welcomed 3 new players this year. Avison Young Poland summarizes the property investment market in Poland in Q3 2023

Property Forum is excited to announce the results of its first biannual investment market sentiment survey focusing on the Romanian market which was conducted ahead of SEE Property Forum 2023. The results, providing an overview of market expectations across sectors, are now available online.

Co-working space provider WeWork, which was once valued at $47 billion, has been forced to file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. The filing is set to provide the company with protection from its creditors and landlords as it restructures its vast debts. Based on its latest share price, WeWork is now worth less than $50 million.

The increase of VAT to 9% will lead to a price increase, while buyers have a growing interest in green homes, concluded speakers of the residential panel of SEE Property Forum 2023, held in Bucharest recently.

Industrial parks should become a powerful driver of the economy and a driving force for the development of the Ukrainian industry and its inclusion in the European system. The state has created the prerequisites for this: in addition to tax incentives, the draft budget for 2024 provides UAH 1 billion (€26 million) for a program to support industrial parks. Iryna Nastych summarised the situation in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum. She analysed how the segment of industrial parks has received a boost in development despite the war, what is the synergy between the state, business and local communities, and what prevents more active development of this area.

On Wednesday the 15th of November (between 8:30 and 14:30) the Belgian Business Chamber (BBC) is organising the annual Real Estate Conference. The Real Estate Conference is an industry event dedicated to the investment market, real estate and construction companies. Property Forum is a Media Partner of the event.

At €3.2 billion for Q1-Q3 2023, CEE investment activity is at a 10+ year low (down 59% year-on-year). The pricing gap between buyers’ and sellers' expectations remains a significant barrier to seeing volumes return to the 5 and 10-year average levels of €10-11 billion. However, real estate fundamentals in CEE remain fairly robust.  Lower levels of vacancy are being recorded and some good levels of rental growth in certain sectors have been noted, reveals Colliers in its latest report.

Investors and bankers are interested in closing deals in the Romanian commercial property sector and we might see more projects with bigger discounts next year, concluded speakers of the transactions panel of SEE Property Forum 2023, held in Bucharest recently.

Slovakia’s economy surpassed expectations in H1 2023 with the automotive industry leading the charge. The industrial sector flourishes with robust take-up and diversified supply and there is also a continuous rise in rents in all submarkets. Resilient take-up but robust new supply caused rising vacancy, stabilized fit-out costs, rising rents and yields. Cushman & Wakefield published its Marketbeat Analysis for Q3 2023. 

Real estate investments continue despite the slowdown of the economy, with offices and industrial mentioned as some of the segments seeing increased demand and higher deal volumes, concluded speakers of the 2024 outlook panel hosted at the SEE Property Forum 2023 conference in Bucharest.