The total transaction volume on the CEE hotel investment market increased to €700 million in the first half of 2017 from the €630 million transacted in H1 2016. This represents a yearly growth of 11 percent which is significantly larger than the 0.3 percent growth registered in the western part of Europe. High yields, booming tourism and strong economic growth are the main reasons behind growing interest in the hotel markets of Central and Eastern European capitals on the behalf of international investors.

Labour force is the key factor for auto player’s location decision-making process - says Colliers International in its latest research. The auto producers and component suppliers sector is very important in CEE industrial and is growing. Auto exports ranged from 4.7% of total exports in 2015 in Bulgaria, upwards to 28.0% in Hungary and 34.6% in Slovakia, growing at a regionally-weighted annual rate of 7.4% in the period 2010-2015.

Central and Eastern European cities have further increased their presence at the largest property event in Europe. Investment markets are booming and this is clearly visible when looking around the stands of Hungarian, Polish, Czech and Romanian cities. Our takeaway from CEE themed panel discussions at Expo Real.

The growth of e-commerce is transforming the retail market all over the world. Experts don’t believe that physical stores will completely disappear but owners of developers of retail assets will need to come up with new ideas in order to attract customers. Jan Kotrbáček, Head of Retail Agency CEE at Cushman & Wakefield analysed the CEE retail market for Property Forum.

The rapid growth of e-commerce will completely transform the retail market within the next few years. Shopping centres will need to adapt to changing consumer needs in order to stay in business but experts believe that many will not survive. Booming online sales, on the other hand, present a great opportunity for further growth in logistics. Members of the retail panel at CEE Property Forum, moderated by Andreas Ridder, Chairman CEE at CBRE, discussed the future of the business.

Tenants in 2017 are looking for a lot more than four walls and a couple of cubicles. Developers and the owners of older schemes will need to adapt to the changing needs of occupiers in order to stay in the race. Our panel of tenants, landlords, developers and advisors at CEE Property Forum 2017 talked about what makes an office attractive in 2017 and what it will take to secure new leases and keep existing tenants happy in the years to come.

Solid economic growth and further expansion on investment markets are expected for 2017 and 2018 in the CEE region with interest rates unlikely to increase until 2019. But even though the short term outlook is highly positive, investors and developers need to be prepared for future challenges. Nearly 400 people from more than 25 countries gathered in Vienna for the fifth CEE Property Forum, co-organised by Property Forum and RICS, to analyse the CEE property market from a global perspective.

The CEO of TriGranit is still optimistic for 2017 on the Budapest property market, but he expects some kind of correction in the coming years. The question is: will this correction take place in the form of a market stabilisation or will it bring on a significant downturn? Árpád Török talked to Property Forum about TriGranit’s plans for new developments and acquisitions.

The markets of Budapest, Bucharest, and Warsaw, in addition to Milan and Oslo, offer the most amenable conditions for both lenders and borrowers, according CBRE’s research.

Increasing political risk on a global level has helped investors look past country risks associated with CEE markets and focus on strong fundamentals coupled with solid economic growth. Jeff Alson, Partner and Head of CEE Investment Team at Cushman & Wakefield talked to Property Forum about his expectations for the investment market.