Brexit has proven that nothing is certain, but at this point it seems that the divorce of the UK and EU won’t have much of an impact on Central and Eastern European property markets. Over 300 visitors and 70 speakers came together in Vienna to discuss the most pressing issues concerning the CEE property industry. We report from CEE Property Forum 2016, co-organised by Portfolio Property Forum and RICS. 

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union dominated property news cycles over the summer. After the initial shock things have somewhat cooled down but it is still uncertain to what extent will London loose its position as the capital of the European real estate market. The first figures show that although investors have started acting a bit more cautiously they are just as hungry for yields as they have been before the referendum took place. Benjamin Perez-Ellischewitz, Head of Capital Markets at JLL Hungary has talked to us about the potential effects of Brexit on European property markets. 

Airports have become an important part of daily life and they have proven to be essential for the development of cities and regions. Good and fast connections are key parts of doing business and the lack of efficient infrastructure can hinder the economic growth of entire regions. Airports in Central and Eastern Europe have a long way to go until they can secure their place on the global map, but they can easily improve their position within the region by increasing their competitiveness. One of the key ingredients of success is establishing adequate transport links.

Student accommodation has become popular among investors in some Western European cities, but there is an almost complete lack of this investment product in the CEE region. Colliers International has released a recently conducted research analysis that explores the current status of student housing in the Czech Republic and the future prospects of this sector that could attract both domestic and foreign investors.

Investment into Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (excluding Russia) for H1 2016 registered a substantial increase (59%) compared to same period of last year, surpassing €5 billion. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015 with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly, says CBRE.

Prologis has announced its second quarter activity in Central and Eastern Europe. The company leased more than 400,000 square metres of distribution space, an increase of more than 7 percent over the same period last year. Demand continues to be driven by reconfiguration of the supply chain and e-commerce.

Robust commercial real estate investment activity continued in Q2 2016 across the core Central European markets and reached EUR 2.6 billion, a 56% increase on Q1, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This has pushed volumes over the last twelve months to EUR 9.3 billion, close to 2007 record levels. 

According to Cushman & Wakefield, robust commercial real estate investment activity in the core Central European markets of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania continued in the second quarter of 2016 and reached EUR 2.6 billion, a 56% increase on Q1. This has pushed volumes over the last twelve months to EUR 9.3 billion, close to 2007 record levels.

Immofinanz recorded net profit of EUR -390.4 million for the 2015/16 financial year (2014/15: EUR -376.6 million). The year-on-year decline resulted primarily from EUR -469.8 million of negative effects from the foreign exchange-adjusted valuation of the Russian portfolio and from a decrease in rental income to EUR 314.5 million (2014/15: EUR 385.6 million) which was caused by temporary rent reductions in Moscow and the planned sale of properties.

An expanding BPO/SSC sector does not just boost the economy but the construction market as well. Investment funds and real estate agencies point out that in CEE there is still a need for prime offices, shopping centers and logistics infrastructure. Skanska, JLL and Dentons, in cooperation with ABSL have published their latest CEE Investment Report 2016: Mission to Outperform.