The total investment volume in Slovakia for 2017 was recorded at just under €525 million, with more than two thirds being closed in the second half of the year. The volume is below JLL‘s €600 million estimation as several deals did not close before the year end and will slip into 2018.

Total take-up on the Bratislava office market reached 84,000 sqm in Q4 2017, having tripled compared to the previous quarter. The vacancy rate continued to decline and reached 6.18%. The Bratislava Research Forum published its office market statistics for Q4 2017.

YIT has sold housing projects in Prague, the Czech Republic and in Bratislava, Slovakia to YCE Housing I fund. The value of the projects is approximately €50 million, and the sales are recorded in the last quarter of the year.

The office markets of Central European capitals are growing dynamically with the number of new leases on the rise and vacancy rates hitting record lows in several cities. In light of all this it is no surprise that development activity is also heating up on the most popular markets of the region.

The total transaction volume on the CEE hotel investment market increased to €700 million in the first half of 2017 from the €630 million transacted in H1 2016. This represents a yearly growth of 11 percent which is significantly larger than the 0.3 percent growth registered in the western part of Europe. High yields, booming tourism and strong economic growth are the main reasons behind growing interest in the hotel markets of Central and Eastern European capitals on the behalf of international investors.

JLL‘s Slovak Capital Markets team has successfully closed the sale process of the Quadro office building in Bratislava, Slovakia. JLL team acted on behalf of CEE Property Development Portfolio 2, a.s., (CPDP2) a real estate investment and asset management company, part of the Česká spořitelna Financial Group. The Quadro building was acquired by Slovakia-based property company backed by Israeli and US capital. The value of the transaction remains confidential. 

The Slovak investment volume reached only €154 million in H1 2017. A number of transactions, across all sectors currently in various stages of the transaction process are estimated to be worth ca. €350 million and should fall into H2 2017, JLL reports.

JLL Bratislava has announced two mid-year promotions. Ján Bošácky has been appointed Head of Research with overall responsibility for market research and advisory services, whereas Samuel Šporka, Head of Industrial Agency and Tenant Representation, has been promoted to Associate Director. 

Central Europe’s smallest capital has attracted a lot of interest from investors in 2016 with more and more major players keeping their eyes on Bratislava in 2017. Nearly 20 speakers and more than 100 guests came together in the Slovak capital at the first ever Bratislava Property Summit, organised by Property Forum in cooperation with RICS.

SAP Slovakia, is renting over 3,000 sqm of office space within the Twin City office complex in Bratislava. SAP also included in its new lease contract approximately 120 underground parking spaces. The branch moved from the BBC V office building after having its seat there for the past 10 years.