While the current situation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed various investments, CBRE’s Building Consultancy team continues to manage ongoing projects of over €80 million invested in the medical, production and IT&C fields in different areas of Romania.

Appetite for the acquisition of office buildings and industrial parks, less rented offices and shopping centres with postponed openings, this is how this quarter could be described regarding the real estate market in Romania, according to the quarterly report of CBRE.

The first three months of the year were closed with promising figures on the Romanian property market. CBRE published its Q1 2020 overview of the main commercial real estate sectors.

The state of emergency imposed by the current pandemic has led to the almost total vacancy of office spaces, within the context of many of the employees working from home. The landlords want to lower service charge levels for this period and continue to provide the necessary services to maintain the buildings in optimal conditions, according to a report by CBRE Romania.

CBRE has announced the appointment of Katarína Brydone as Head of Investment Properties of CBRE in the Czech Republic effective 1 June 2020. Katarína Brydone succeeds Chris Sheils who spent four successful years in this position and has taken the decision to leave the business following Clare Sheils’ promotion to Managing Director of CBRE Czech Republic.

JLL and CBRE have been selected by Immobel Poland as agents responsible for the commercialization process of Central Point in Warsaw. The investment is being built on the corner of Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska Streets and above an intersection of the two metro lines of Warsaw.

CBRE has leased 4,000 sqm at Warsaw Unit, which is currently under construction by Ghelamco near the Rondo Daszyńskiego. The 202-meter building will offer 57,000 sqm of office space on 45 floors as well as a multi-story garage for 450 vehicles and infrastructure for cyclists, including bike parking, locker rooms and showers. Completion is scheduled for 2021.

CBRE has facilitated the lease of approximately 15,500 sqm of office space to the expanding Prague team of ExxonMobil in Luxembourg Plaza in Prague 3. The 1,200 employees who currently work in two different office buildings will move into the new headquarters in Q1 2022.

CBRE expects the COVID-19 outbreak to have a negative short-term impact on certain sectors of the commercial real estate market. However, the further transmission and evolution of the virus remains difficult to predict.

A new peak in total transaction volumes of €13.9 billion was reached last year across the CEE region. Including Austria and Serbia, the volume is even greater: €20.19 billion, according to CBRE’s latest research.