The European industrial and logistics investment market experienced a record breaking H1 investment volume this year, despite a slower Q2. In Hungary, the vacancy rate slipped to 6.6%, and developers’ activity is on the rise according to the latest research data of CBRE.

Construction commenced on GTC Hungary’s latest office development project. GTC White House is going to have a GLA of 21,500 sqm and is expected to be completed by end-2017. Concurrently, GTC Hungary will carry out a full interior refurbishment and technical reconstruction at Duna Tower Office.

Before the global economic crisis the financial sector dominated the Budapest office market, banks leased the greatest number of new offices and impressive new headquarters were built for them. By now the situation has changed: the biggest players are from the ICT (information and communication technology) sector in Budapest, leading companies are building new headquarters, and the globally influential Hungarian companies are moving into larger and larger offices.

Investment into Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (excluding Russia) for H1 2016 registered a substantial increase (59%) compared to same period of last year, surpassing €5 billion. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015 with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly, says CBRE.

There has been a significant increase in demand for income-producing industrial properties bought for investment purposes in Hungary in the past two years. China's Shanghai Feilo Acoustics owned Inesa Europe purchased more than 16,000 square meters of industrial property under such a deal. The distribution center located at Dunakeszi serves the European customers of one of the largest LED manufacturers in China.

Commercial real estate investment remained strong across Europe in Q2 2016 totaling €54.0 billion, up 2.5 per cent on Q1 2016 and 30.4 per cent on the ten year average. Investment into CEE countries for H1 2016 registered a substantial increase (59%) compared to same period of last year, reaching almost €5 billion. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015, with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly.

Prologis has signed a 42,170 square metre build-to-suit (BTS) agreement with Agata at Prologis Park Piotrków II in Poland. Real estate agency CBRE facilitated the transaction.

Investment into Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (excluding Russia) for Q1 2016 registered a slight decrease (6%) compared to the same period of last year, reaching €1.84 billion, CBRE’s research shows. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015, with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly. 

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.