CEE Investment volumes for the Q1-Q3 2020 period have reached ca. €8.0 billion and are 12% down compared to the same period of 2019. Poland attracted €4 billion which represents 50% of all volumes in this period. Average transaction sizes are up 31.5% and the number of transactions is down 32% according to Colliers International. Despite investor appetite remaining strong for CEE, year-end volumes are likely to reach €10-11 billion, ca. 20% lower than in 2019.

The 12-month rental outlook for both prime and secondary CBD offices is stable in Bucharest and Budapest and negative in Warsaw. In Prague, the outlook is negative for prime assets and stable for secondary assets. The vacancy rate is expected to increase over the coming year in all of the four capital cities. Occupier conditions are currently neutral across the region, with Bucharest and Budapest expected to become tenant markets over the next 12 months, according to Colliers International.

According to the latest insights from Colliers International, investment activity in commercial property in Europe is expected to rebound to reach €100 billion in Q4, following a robust turn-around in larger, post-COVID deals in Q3. This would take investment volumes for the whole year to around €270 billion, only 14 per cent down on activity in 2019, provided smoother waters prevail and the market isn’t further shocked by external geo-political or macro-economic factors.

The I&L sector in the CEE-17 has become one of the most sought-after asset types since 2019, after offices and residential according to Colliers International, CMS and Randstad. The report revealed that some of the key challenges in this sector include the availability of land and property in locations that meet both the developers and end-user expectations, along with the availability and reliability of utilities, connectivity to transport infrastructure, the availability and skills of the labour pool, and access to investment incentives.

Colliers International has taken over the management of the Astoria Premium Offices building, located in the heart of Warsaw. Astoria Premium Offices is a 12-storey modern office building. It offers 19,500 sqm of leasable space and provides access to 86 underground parking spaces. The building has LEED certification at the Platinum level.

Colliers International has taken over the management of Tischnera Office in Kraków, owned by Cavatina Holding. Tischnera Office is a modern Class A office and service facility with a BREEAM certificate at the Very Good level. It was built in Podgórze district, 5 km from the city centre, in close proximity to the A4 motorway and 20 minutes by car from John Paul II International Airport.

European markets with low levels of existing flexible workspace have seen the greatest growth in new flex operations over the first half of 2020, according to the latest flexible workspace report by Colliers International.

With over 42,000 sqm of modern office space due for completion in 2020, Brno should receive one of the biggest additions of office space in recent years. Ostrava, on the other hand, hasn’t seen supply growth in several quarters and currently, there are no new office buildings under construction in the city. Colliers International has published its regional office market overview of the Czech Republic for H1 2020, focused on Brno and Ostrava.

Savvy hotel operators could harness the remote working trend and adapt their space to deliver a ‘hybrid hospitality’ concept to generate an additional source of income. Colliers International, predicts that where hotels provide office space to enable co-working and interacting, turnover could be increased by up to 20 percent.

In the first half of 2020, the supply of modern class A, B and C office space in Sofia increased by 1%, reaching 2,315,600 sqm, according to Colliers International. The recently completed building 3 of Garitage Park accounted for much of the growth in the office stock.