New retail projects with a combined leasable area of around 180,000 sqm were completed in Romania during 2024, down by around 15% versus 2023, with retail parks accounting for the biggest share of deliveries, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Last year. developers completed 14 retail projects, representing both new schemes and extentions of existing projects.
Pitești, Ploiești, Giurgiu, Crevedia, Hunedoara, Bistrița, Sinaia, Râmnicu Vâlcea are among the cities which benefited from such investments in 2024, while the most important project completed last year in Bucharest was Jumbo Center (25,700 sqm), which represented a complete refurbishment of the former Liberty Center.
Argeș Mall in Pitești, an 51,400 sqm project owned by Prime Kapital - MAS Real Estate, was the largest retail scheme delivered in 2024.
“The recent deliveries of modern retail projects and the robust long-term pipeline underscore the market's potential. Whether we are referring to smaller retail parks in emerging cities or to large urban regeneration projects, there is a clear upward trajectory of this market segment. Favored by one of the lowest densities of modern retail spaces, but also by impressive retail sales’ growth, Romania continues to strengthen its position on the European retail market,” says Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency Cushman & Wakefield Echinox
The prime shopping centre rent in Bucharest stabilized in Q4 2024 to a level of €90 per sqm. In regional cities, rents were flat and were ranging between €50-65 per sqm, the same situation being observed in tertiary locations, where levels between €30-35 per sqm were recorded.
Looking forward, the biggest projects in the pipeline, with leasable areas above 100,000 sqm, are located in Cluj-Napoca and Iași.
