The number of property deals and the volumes transacted plunged in Q4 2022 in comparison to the final quarter of 2021 in major EMEA markets due to higher interest rates and financing costs amid surging inflation. However, property investment will resume its growth path this year, as the inflation and interest rates become more stable, says Colliers.

Currently, more than 80% of employers in Romania have less than half of their employees in the office on a normal working day, according to a survey conducted by Colliers among 75 companies whose headcount ranges from several dozen to hundreds of employees. 

As of Q4 2022 in the Czech industrial market, the extremely low vacancy of around 1% persists. The share of speculative construction has grown to 40% and the modern, developer-led warehouse stock reached almost 10.8 million sqm, so experts expect that it will surpass 11 million sqm by the end of Q1 2023, the Industrial Research Forum announced in their report.

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 Czech real estate market in 2023 will be driven mainly by inflation, which will also determine this year´s ten real estate market trends. Among them will be high construction costs, pressure for ESG compliance and looking for a balance between savings, spending a responsible investing, says Colliers in its real estate market prediction for this year.

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.

Colliers has announced the appointment of Luke Dawson as Head of Global Capital Markets. Dawson will set the global strategic agenda for Colliers Capital Markets, which includes advising clients, providing value-added services to accelerate clients’ investment strategies, and connecting capital with opportunities across all asset classes around the world. In addition to his new mandate, he will retain his existing role as Capital Markets leader for EMEA.

Colliers has prepared a report that comprehensively analyzes the role of mixed-use projects in Polish cities – in terms of investment, architecture, and city-forming functions.

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%).