According to the latest report by Colliers International, during the first half of 2016, some 12,000 square metres of modern office space were completed in Prague. An additional 20,300 square metres is expected to follow during the second half, which will lead to 2016 being the “leanest” year in terms of development completions since 1992, with a total of only 32,300 square metres of completed offices.

Tchibo Prague has held the topping out ceremony of the first its distribution centre in Panattoni Park Cheb, which will serve online customers from the CEE region and the southern part of Germany. Currently, the total rentable area has reached 39,000 sqm which will be shortly extended to 73,000 sqm. After completion, the premises will become the second largest logistics hall ever constructed in the territory of the Czech Republic after the distribution centre of Amazon in Dobrovíz. The Tchibo distribution centre shall start its operation by the end of this year. The second phase of the project will be completed in the middle of next year.

Colliers International has opened its office in Katowice in Poland. It is located on the 13th floor of Altus office building in Uniwersytecka 13 street. The director of the Katowice regional office is Barbara Pryszcz, who joined the company in March this year. Barbara is responsible for the company’s development in Katowice and the Upper Silesia region. 

With the last works completed in July, Budapest’s newest office building “Buda Loft Offices” is ready to welcome its new tenants. The building - which used to be the Goldberger textile factory - now offers modern loft offices. Colliers International has been appointed as the exclusive letting agent on the building

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.

KPMG has leased an office area of over 1,700 sqm in O3 Business Campus in Kraków – an office complex which is being developed by Echo Investment. The company is to move into the new office at the end of this year. The tenant was represented by the Colliers International consulting company.

At the end of the H1 the total supply in the nine major markets in Poland reached 8.6 million sqm. Developers completed a record amount of modern office space – almost 572,000 sqm. Over 1.4 million sqm of office space is under construction and the capital accounts for 609,000 sqm of new offices. The vacancy rate for Poland is 13.4 percent according to Colliers’ report „Market insights | Office market H1 2016“.

The Bulgarian investment market saw a number of positive developments during the first half of 2016, according to the latest Colliers’ report. Part of the good news is that for the first time since 2012, income-generating transactions prevailed (85%) over speculative (15%).

The latest Colliers report reveals a stable retail property market in Bulgaria during the first half of 2016. Modern shopping centers in Sofia retained the absorption levels from the previous period – nearly 15,000 sqm of leasable space, compared to 16,370 sqm in the second half of 2015. In well-established projects enjoying active demand, this equals to an average share of 4% from the GLA. 

Central European commercial property markets are expected to attract even more investors than last year and the competition among countries is fiercer than ever. What does it take to change lost lasting perceptions and secure interest from international buyers? Andy Thompson MRICS, Director of Investment Services at Colliers International talked to us in Bratislava about recent developments on the Czech and Slovakian markets.