Romania’s commercial property sector recorded investment transactions of €418 million in H1 2024, up 131% year-on-year, marking the biggest volume growth across CEE, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

The first half of 2024 has seen CEE investment volumes increase by ca. 29% YoY. According to preliminary results, this is contrary to European and Global results, where activity is still subdued. Given the current conditions, Colliers expect 2024 volumes could reach up to ca. €5.5 billion, around half of the 10-year average, as it has revealed in its latest “H1 2024 Investment Scene” report.

Mateusz Sikora, Co-Founder of Rebench startup has talked to Property Forum about the life cycle of the office furniture, the importance of the circularity and the implementation of the ESG principles in the Polish property market.

Industrial developer WDP has secured a €250 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for investments in photovoltaic systems and electric vehicle charging stations across its portfolio. 

The headline RICS Commercial Property Sentiment Index (CPSI) holds steady in the latest survey for Q2 2024, while the outlook for secondary offices and retail remains particularly negative in many markets.

The board of real estate group Immofinanz has approved a framework with CPI Property Group (CPIPG), which holds 75% of the company, which paves the way for future consolidation of the two groups.

The debt markets in Europe remain resilient. An extensive survey by CBRE among 130 companies shows that the lending environment is on a solid footing for when investment activity starts to pick up in the second half of 2024. Nearly two-thirds of respondents expect a recovery compared to last year with refinancing being the main source of demand. Industrial and multifamily are the preferred sectors for lending, with student accommodation and hotels seeing the strongest increase in demand.

Industrial developer CTP has leased over 100,000 sqm of logistics space across its Hungarian projects to a Korean company specialised in automotive logistics.

Gijs Klomp, Business Development Manager at WDP Romania, talked to Property Forum about the company’s more than €90 million development pipeline on the local market and the outlook of the industrial sector on rents and new demand.

The industrial and logistics sector in CEE-6 regions attracted on average 27% (€14 billion) of the last five-year investment volume on a rolling basis in the region. The total commercial real estate investment sector hovers on average around €10 billion each year, according to Colliers.