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.
With 220 respondents coming from diverse backgrounds in terms of location and field of expertise, the survey results paint an optimistic picture for investment and occupier markets in Romania.
The last few years have been characterised by a wait-and-see approach but half of respondents expect this approach to change during the next 12 months. Another positive sign is that almost no one expects a further drop in investment activities.
In terms of investors' favourite asset classes, logistics continues to be seen as the most attractive option, leaving almost no room for other types of assets. Unlike in other CEE countries, where residential is an attractive option for institutional investors, offices take second place in Romania.
Moving on to occupier markets, the dominance of logistics is even clearer than in investments with a whooping 73% expecting the sector to register the strongest tenant demand among asset classes.
We also asked participants to name the regional city in Romania with the best investment and development opportunities. The clear winner is Cluj-Napoca with half of the respondents preferring the second-largest city in the country. Cluj is followed by Constanța and Timișoara.
Another key topic of the survey was inflation, naturally. Respondents are optimistic with over two-thirds expecting inflationary concerns and interest rates to decrease during the next 12 months.
Despite this, only 14% expect financing costs to decrease and financing conditions to ease. The majority doesn't expect significant changes during the next 12 months and 31% even predict tightening conditions.
In line with that, the biggest concern on respondents' minds remains the potential repricing of assets, inflation and high financing costs, although possible regulatory changes are evidently also a reason for concern.
Ending the survey on a more positive note, 50% expect Romania to be in a better position in 12 months compared to the present day.
