For the first time, Zagreb Property Forum was organised in the Croatian capital, bringing together real estate experts from the local market and beyond. The event confirmed increasing interest by investors and developers for Croatia, especially following the country’s admission to the Eurozone and the Schengen Area. However, given the global macroeconomic climate, uncertainty persists.

P3 Group has announced record operational results and strong financials for the full year 2022. The European investor and developer of warehouse properties increased Gross Asset Value to €8.3 billion, only modestly impacted by a 2.3% valuation decline. Operationally, the company’s portfolio grew to 7.6 million sqm across 11 European countries, registering an all-time high occupancy rate of 98%.

In the year 2022, CPI Property Group became one of Europe's largest landlords. The CPIPG portfolio reached €20.9 billion, about €7.8 billion more than the year before due to several consolidations. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was €608 million, while FFO1 was €355 million.

Investors and tenants in Romania appear to have higher expectations regarding the environmental characteristics of the building than their counterparts in other countries, according to a survey by CBRE of 20 building owners in Romania. 

High inflation brings something that has not been seen in Czechia for a long time - a halt in the growth of residential property prices, especially flats. Prices of older flats are even falling. Frozen demand will soon hit construction companies. The housing market has slowed down considerably, and players are waiting for further economic development, says David Frič from STEM/MARK (the Euroconstruct member institute in Czechia).

After the start of the pandemic in 2020, and its surge in 2021, the past 12 months have brought renewed market activity in an attempt to offset the previous slowdown. The retail sector, construction, and the IT sector managed to avoid the recession and maintain their position as the least affected industries by the pandemic. The investment market in Bulgaria for the second half of 2022 recorded twice as high activity in terms of volume as in H1 2022, according to the Sofia City Report by JLL with the support of IPC Partners Bulgaria and Avalant. Foreign investors are less cautious to expand to unload their cash given the limited amount of opportunities.

Immofinanz Group delivered very good operating performance in 2022 in spite of the challenging environment. Sustainable FFO 1 from the standing investment business rose by 21.7%. Rental income increased by 5.4% to €300.2 million and the results of asset management by 7.2% to €226.1 million. The Group also has a very solid capital base with an equity ratio of 47.9% and conservative debt with a net LTV of 40.7%.

The composition of Croatia’s construction output is changing. While the residential segment may soon experience a slowdown, health-related construction - public and private renovations and new builds alike - is seeing a considerable boom, write Michael Glazer (SEE Regional Advisors) and Tatjana Halapija (Nada Projekt), Croatian members of the EECFA (Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association).

The Echo-Archicom 2030 strategy is to follow a road map that lays out year by year how both companies are to decarbonize through zero-emission developments while further increasing the role of greenery in the group’s projects and supporting appropriate city development. The developers also intend to provide their employees with equal career and training opportunities, maximize construction site safety and strengthen its corporate governance.

The mood among investors at MIPIM was mixed: we all expected that the beginning of this year would not be rich in transactions and new projects, and it is true - we are seeing an investment slowdown across Europe, writes Marcin Purgal, Senior Director, Investment at Avison Young. However, in this time of uncertainty, we can say that Poland is enjoying and will continue to enjoy the interest of investors - it is one of the most active markets, across all segments, offering higher rates of return than Western Europe. We have an influx of new capital from the Baltic countries and Scandinavia. Also, the already present capital is still active, such as investors from Central and Eastern Europe as well as a few from Western Europe.