In the first quarter of this year €1.25 billion was spent on commercial real estate in Poland. This reflects a decrease of only 1.5% compared to the five-year average for the first quarters of 2017-2021. Offices have the largest share in the investment market, but the industrial and logistics segment is also continuing its streak. Capital investment came to Poland mainly from Europe, according to the latest CBRE report. The company's experts indicate that there is moderate optimism on the investment market, which is reflected in the safe choices of investors.

The development of the industrial and logistics market remains strong in 2021 in terms of leasing transactions and deliveries of new projects. Demand for new spaces across Romania is driven by automotive and retail players. 

The volume of new real estate investments in Romania amounted to €98 million in the first quarter of 2021, driven by the office and industrial segments. The investments were down 19% compared to the same period of 2020, according to a report by CBRE. 

Companies from the logistics, retail and production sectors agree that the economic environment this year is more challenging than the year before, according to the CBRE Confidence Index. However, industries have different views on the future. Already 9 out of 10 logistics companies believe that their turnover will increase or remain unchanged in the next 12 months. In retail and production, this opinion is shared by 60% of companies. Conversely, when it comes to the conditions of running a business in the coming months, companies in the logistics sector have greater concerns. Only 28% of logistics operators anticipate an improvement, while for companies involved with retail and production, the comparable figure is 36%.

French BIC Group, the maker of stationery, lighters and shavers, is reportedly looking to open a regional distribution centre near Bucharest, according to profit.ro.   

The retail park format was gaining ground before the pandemic and continues to grow despite it. Over the past 20 years, the share of retail parks in the entire pool of shopping facilities in the country has increased from 6% to 15% and now they occupy approximately 1.97 million sqm, according to CBRE data. Retail parks remain popular among investors, confirming their strong position, even in times of a pandemic. Their popularity is underpinned by their locality, concentration of stores providing basic needs in one place and a smaller number of customer contact points than in large centres. According to CBRE experts, the current trends indicate that by 2030 retail parks may constitute 28% of all shopping space in Poland.

CBRE has been mandated to manage the industrial portfolio of Cromwell European Real Estate Trust (CEREIT) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The modern stock of industrial space in Romania will reach approximately 5,5 million sqm this year, according to CBRE Romania.  At the national level, approximately 400,000 sqm of industrial spaces are currently under construction, an area of ​​over 60% being already pre-leased

The industrial segment has stood out as the most resilient sector to the crisis and the markets Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria present a huge opportunity for further growth. Boško Tomašević MRICS, Managing Director SEE at CBRE talked to Property Forum about investment market expectations and shared the company’s expansion plans for the Balkans region.

CBRE Romania announced it recruited Mihai Patrulescu from Colliers International to lead the Investment Properties department.