The coronavirus outbreak continues to affect people and economies deeply. In the latest online panel organized by Property Forum, three real estate professionals discussed the impacts of the coronavirus crisis on the Bulgarian property market.

The office market in Sofia faces a significant slowdown, due to the economic uncertainty and weakening business activity caused by COVID-19, according to the latest market report of Forton, a strategic partner of Cushman & Wakefield for Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Property Forum’s series of virtual events, organised in partnership with the RICS, continues with a free online panel discussion providing a market update for Bulgaria. Attendance is free but registration is mandatory.

The construction industry seems to have been relatively less affected than some other industries (like tourism) as most large projects continue during the lockdown measures across the region. The Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association has published a COVID-19 update on the construction sectors of Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia.

The preliminary investment volumes for the CEE region for Q1 2020 have reached ca. €3.7 billion, despite the onset of COVID-19 in CEE at the beginning of March. This volume was significantly boosted by the ca. €1.3 billion acquisition of the Residomo portfolio in the Czech Republic by Heimstaden, however, it still represents a y-o-y growth of 68% over Q1 2019 (ca. €2.2 billion) and 28% over Q1 2018 (ca. €2.9 billion).

According to the latest RICS Commercial Property Monitor, occupier and investment sentiment remains mostly positive across main CEE markets with the exception of Bulgaria where the outlook is slightly negative. Retail continues to suffer across the region as demand for retail assets fell on both the occupier and investment sides of the market in most countries.

Bulgaria-based insurance company DZI, part of Belgium's KBC Group, has acquired Mall Varna, an office building located in Varna, Bulgaria. The seller was Hidrostroy, a local company. The transaction price has not been disclosed.

The Park Center shopping centre in Sofia, managed by Ceres Management Services, is now fully leased. On the last business day of 2019, the lease agreement for the last remaining vacant space in the mall (60 sqm on floor 2) was signed, which will be transformed into a new dining concept.

According to the latest RICS Commercial Property Monitor, occupier and investment sentiment remains positive across main CEE markets, even though the Czech Republic has posted its most subdued set of readings in four years. In many countries, demand for retail assets fell on both the occupier and investment sides of the market. Based on rental and capital value projections, secondary retail is visibly suffering in Austria, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.

According to the latest RICS Commercial Property Monitor, CEE countries – most notably the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania – are still global leaders in occupier and investment sentiment. The Central European region’s most mature market, Austria is on a different path, however, with respondents reporting a broadly flat outlook.