Demand for industrial space lifted significantly in Q1 2016 in Budapest industrial markets and the hegemony of BTS projects has not broken yet. In the Budapest-South submarket vacancy rate dropped to 4.4% triggering two speculative projects, CBRE reports.

On 11th April, the Hungarian government announced their proposal for parliament to abolish the standing law regarding Sunday closing for retail units. The proposal has already passed through voting in the Parliament on 12th April, theoretically allowing stores to open from Sunday, 17 April 2016. The decision comes little more than a year after the legislation came into effect in March 2015, and is likely a direct consequence of recent developments having paved the way for a referendum on the widely criticized policy. According to CBRE’s experience this is a highly appreciated change in legislation by the industry. 

According to the CBRE Investment Breakfast Intentions Survey the vast majority of investors expect more than EUR 1 billion of investments in the Hungarian commercial real estate markets in 2016.

HARMAN International and BASF Hungária Kft. has signed lease agreements with Skanska. The Swedish developer’s Nordic Light office building in Budapest now has preliminary lease agreements for 26% of its total leasable area. Colliers represented the tenants in the transactions, while CBRE takes exclusive responsibility for leasing Nordic Light.