In 2023, Central Europe’s commercial real estate market faced a notable decline in investment volumes. Dropping by 55% year on year, the region’s total investment volume accounted for €5.02 billion. Of the six countries surveyed by Cushman & Wakefield, Poland experienced the most significant downturn of 68%, with its share of the total CEE volume also dropping. The highest proportion of the capital went into the office sector, which also recorded the sharpest outward movement in terms of yields. Local and regional investors accounted for two-thirds of the investment transaction volumes, a significant increase from the previous years. Despite challenges, the market demonstrates resilience, particularly in the logistics and residential sectors, spotlighting areas of growth potential.

Higher borrowing costs and the price gap between buyers' and sellers' expectations are some of the reasons why transaction volumes are significantly below the 10-year average level of ca. €10 billion. This is according to a commercial real estate investment volumes survey by Colliers presented at a February meeting of Czech and Slovak investors and other financial experts.

IAD's Prvý realitný fond real estate fund has acquired through its real estate company Logis Rugvica d.o.o. a plot of land intended for development in the Sveta Helena area, near the Croatian capital Zagreb. With this project, Prvý realitný fond is successfully starting its activities on the Croatian market.

NEPI Rockcastle, the third biggest retail real estate company in Europe, saw its net operating income soar 21% to a record €491 million in 2023 compared to the previous year over strong sales of its tenants across the region.

Hedwig Höfler has been appointed Group Head of Investment Management at CA Immo, tasked with expanding her existing responsibilities for Austria and CEE to include all transaction activity in Germany. She is taking over responsibilities covered by Christof Altendorfer, who left the company.

The retail sector accounted for 58% of the total investment transaction volume that reached €500 million during 2023 in Romania, according to data from iO Partners in collaboration with JLL.

Colliers has promoted Andrzej Gutowski as ESG Chief Officer in CEE, including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

Corwin has announced the completion of its first residential complex in Ljubljana, which is also the company’s first investment in Slovenia. After the completion of 236 apartments, Corwin revealed plans for the development of another 1,600 apartments in the same city in the next decade.

The past year has probably been the weakest since 2009 in terms of the volume of investments in real estate, both in the Czech Republic and throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This conclusion has resulted from the KPMG Property Lending Barometer survey. It has involved representatives of 48 banks from 10 CEE countries.

iO Partners has announced the appointment of Charles Boudet as CEO. With this appointment, iO Partners wishes to further accelerate growth and contribute to the transformation of the real estate sector.