Labour shortage and rising costs in construction are problems developers in CEE have had to learn to live with over the past years. Dr. Zoltán Nádasdy MRICS, Partner, Head of CEE Real Estate Investments Group at Noerr talked to Property Forum about the legal challenges investors and developers face on the Hungarian, Romanian and Polish markets.

According to Colliers International’s latest “FDI into CEE infographic”, high numbers of Global Fortune 500 companies in the CEE-6 are being largely driven from Automotive, Industrials, Food, Beverages & Tobacco, Telecom & Media and Transportation sectors. Whilst Poland is the biggest economy, the ratio of the Fortune Global 500 companies present versus population size is much higher in Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Immofinanz is driving the steady growth of its Stop Shop retail park brand, as previously announced, with a next step that includes the expansion of the portfolio to 90 locations. The most recent acquisitions include six fully rented retail parks in Slovenia and Poland with roughly 54,000 sqm of rentable space. The annual rental income based on invoiced rents amounts to approximately €6.6 million, which represents a gross return of 8.6%.

According to JLL, the value of real estate investment transactions in Central and Eastern Europe totalled more than €5.47 billion in H1 2019. Poland is the clear front-runner accounting for €2.72 billion (almost 50% share), followed by the Czech Republic with €1.68 billion (30%). In both countries, Asian investors, particularly those from South Korea, have been remarkably active. Total volumes in Hungary amounted to €400 million, while in Romania and Slovakia total volumes hit €338 and €350 million respectively.

According to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest DNA of Real Estate Q2 2019 report, the European logistics sector continues to perform strongly with strong rental growth and investor demand driving down yield by 2bps, whereas yields in the European office and retail sectors remained flat.

Flow volume into the CEE-6 commercial real estate markets picked up in Q2 2019, registering a cycle-high €3.3 billion for the quarter. Following on from the weaker Q1, H1 2019 volumes at €5.5 billion were thus just -3% down on H1 2018’s record, according to Colliers International's latest report.

Flow volume into the CEE-6 commercial real estate markets picked up in Q2 2019, registering a cycle-high €3.3 billion for the quarter. Following on from the weaker Q1, H1 2019 volumes at €5.5 billion were thus just -3% down on H1 2018’s record, according to Colliers International's data.

One year ago, CBRE promoted Luiza Moraru as Head of the Property Management Division for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In just one year, the managed portfolio expanded by 50%, and at the same time the team grew, so at age 39, Luiza Moraru conducts a team of over 600 people, being the only real estate consultant in Romania with a regional management position.

Following several successful transactions in Prague (Waltrovka, Rustonka, Main Point Pankrác), the sale of Bratislava’s Twin City Tower marks another major Central European deal involving a Korean investor. Cushman & Wakefield, which over the course of the past few months has helped bring a total of €600 million of Korean capital to the region, summarised the phenomenon.

As global travel is becoming more affordable and accessible, hotel accommodation must also change. Hotels and hostels are no longer what they were ten or even five years ago and are adapting to coworking and coliving trends worldwide – they are more lifestyle-oriented, says Bolesław Kołodziejczyk, PhD, Head of Research and Advisory, Cresa Poland.