Demand for renting and buying real estate should remain decent over the longer term in Romania and its neighbors, despite 2023 most likely being a bit more challenging than a regular year, according to experts of Colliers. 

The current economic downturn may result in more mergers and acquisitions in most of the CEE countries. Owners of some hotels and retail centres may divest their assets to minimize loss. Property Forum asked Csaba Polacsek, Partner, Advisory Services at PwC Hungary about the mood of the possible buyers and the remaining risks in the coming years.

The war in Ukraine has affected the economic situation of all countries from the CEE region, ESG moves from “nice to have” to a market standard in all real estate market segments and increasing construction, operation and transportation costs translate into increasing costs in all real estate sectors. These are some of the key findings discussed in the latest Colliers summarising the year 2022 in CEE.

Property developer and investor Globalworth has secured new funding worth €160 million from Austrian Erste Group. 

CBRE has appointed Daniel Bienias as the new Managing Director of the CEE region. He will take over this role from Andreas Ridder who has been successfully building CBRE’s presence in the region for the last 20 years. Andreas will remain in his position as Managing Director, CBRE Austria.

Immofinanz has significantly expanded its retail portfolio in the 2022 financial year. As a result of acquisitions and completions, the portfolio has grown from 111 to 169 locations in ten European countries over the course of the year, with a carrying amount of approximately €2.3 billion (excluding S Immo). Rentable space increased by nearly 30% to approximately 1.36 million sqm.

The concentration of population in rural areas, lower construction standards and less service-driven economy contribute to the divergence between the CEE region and Western European states when it comes to energy consumption structure, reveals Colliers in its recent report.

According to the results of the survey conducted by Colliers among consumers from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, respondents indicated that they would spend less or the same amount of money on food and gifts (50% and 74%, respectively) when compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019. Thanks to high inflation, the money will not stretch quite as far as in previous years. The survey also showed an increased awareness of the problem of food waste - reducing the amount of groceries bought for this reason was declared by Hungarians (24%), Poles (18%) and Romanians (16%).

Immofinanz is acquiring 17,305,012 shares in S Immo AG from its core shareholder, CPI Property Group, thus obtaining a controlling stake in S Immo of 50% plus one share. The purchase price amounts to €337.5 million or €19.5 per S Immo share. The transaction will be financed through a long-term credit facility provided to Immofinanz by CPIPG. The share purchase agreement was signed on 19 December 2022. The closing of the transaction will take place before the end of 2022. Consequently, Immofinanz will fully consolidate S Immo in the 2022 annual financial statements.

Around 130,000 sqm of new modern offices could be delivered this year, with a total of roughly 360,000 sqm possible for the 2022-2024 period, though the 2024 calendar could be postponed, according to real estate consultancy Colliers.