Four new retail projects with a combined leasable area of 30,000 sqm have been delivered in four smaller Romanian cities in the first half of 2023. Giurgiu, Călărași, Dej and Vaslui are the cities which benefited from these new investments, while the new supply will be significantly more substantial in the second half of the year, when almost 260,000 sqm of retail spaces are due to be completed, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
The biggest delivery in H1 2023 was Funshop Park Vaslui, with a leasable area of 10,000 sqm, developed by Scallier. In the second half, the biggest retail projects slated for delivery are NEPI Rockcastle’s Promenada Craiova, with a leasable area of 78,500 sqm, and Oasis Consulting’s Prima Shopping Center that spans 70,000 sqm. All in all, shopping malls will have a 40% share of new deliveries in H2 2023, while the rest will be covered by retail parks.
“There are currently more than ten retail projects exceeding 20,000 sq. m which have been announced, some being already under construction or in advanced stages of permitting, a fact which once again illustrates the retail developers' long-term commitment to Romania, despite the inflationary pressures and the retail sales expected compressions," said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
The prime shopping center rents remained flat in Q2 2023, with the headline monthly rent achieved for 100 - 150 sqm units in dominant shopping centers in Bucharest being of around €75 - €80 per sqm. In secondary cities, the prime rent ranges from €50 – €65 per sqm with €30 – €35 per sqm being the level recorded in tertiary locations.
