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. 

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.