2018 ended with a significant premiere on the local real estate market: Romanian investors ranked second in the generated volumes by nationality. Almost €200 million were spent to buy commercial properties (about a quarter of the total volume), a significant leap of more than five times compared with 2017, according to Colliers International.

In Greek mythology, Icarus flew too near to the sun, melting the wax on his wings and he plunged into the sea. According to Colliers International’s new research, this might be a correct analogy for the current state of the construction markets in CEE.

Another year in the commercial real estate market in Poland is coming to an end. Although the figures for the last 12 months are yet to be published, we can safely say that this year was definitely a good one for the Polish market. Experts from Colliers International selected 10 events that had a major impact on the shape of the real estate market in Poland.

December is a time for Romania to score positive results for sales at supermarkets, hypermarkets or discounters as well as for gifts, offering generous returns for retailers in shopping centres and preferring apparel rather than electronic goods relative to other Europeans. The season’s celebrations are a recurring highlight each year for the office segment as well, as both landlords and tenants invest in promoting the holiday spirit.

Advised by Colliers International’s UK Hospitality Asset Management team and the local Colliers office in Albania, Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced a management agreement with Kastrati Hotels & Tower for the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Albania.

Polish sportswear retailer, 50 Style, opened in October its first store in Romania, in Bucharest’s Iris Shopping Center, Titan area, on a surface of 315 sqm. Its entry on the local market confirms the real estate consultancy company’s, Colliers International Romania's, view of the Polish brands’ goal to expand in the Eastern European region, especially in Romania, where consumption has steadily increased in recent years.

Colliers International is extending its range of services dedicated to investors. Dorota Wysokińska-Kuzdra has joined the company where she will head the new Corporate Finance CEE department as a Partner. The new business line will provide advice on customers’ financial needs, including debt financing, mezzanine financing, raising capital and gaining capital partners, and also offering support in acquiring companies and entering the stock exchange.

GTC’s latest development, GTC White House has achieved the highest, Platinum certification level under the LEED for Building Design and Construction rating scheme. As of today, this is the second office building which was awarded with this certification in Budapest. The certification process was advised by Colliers International Hungary’s Green Building Advisory Team.

In the third quarter of 2018, the Polish warehouse market was bolstered by 683,400 sqm of new supply. At the end of September, storage space in Poland exceeded 15 million sqm, which means that in the last 5 years the total surface volume has doubled. Almost 2 million sqm remains under construction, of which more than 25% in Central Poland.

Colliers International is predicting it will be a further seven years before there is a rebalancing of the physical and online retailing sectors across Europe.