2016 was a strong year for the Romanian commercial property market with a continued boom in the office segment and growing investment volumes. Ilinca Paun, Managing Partner at Colliers International talked us about current trends and expectations for the future.

Colliers International announced that Luke Dawson has returned to Colliers International, effective immediately, in the role of Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets for Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).

Globalworth purchased a logistics project located near Pitesti, Romania, rented by Dacia from ELGAN, a company owned by businessman Simon Roth, for €42.5 million. Colliers International advised the seller.

Colliers REMS Hungary has been assigned the role of Center Manager including the operational management of the in total 220,000 sqm KÖKI Terminál shopping mall. The assignment also includes the management and technical support of tenant fitting out works.

IT Services Hungary, the largest ICT employer of Hungary has decided to move its Budapest site to Skanska’s Mill Park, from Q2 2018 and will occupy approx. 17,300 sqm in the second phase of the complex. In the leasing process, ITSH was advised by Colliers International.

2016 reached the volume of €11.8bn in investment markets across Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, according to a research report by Colliers International. Aside from Poland, investment flows in 2017 will be close to or higher than 2016’s.  The retail sector might see continued rental growth and high investment levels across the region.

The sound global and domestic investment climate generated a major push in property investment activity in Hungary reaching the second highest ever registered annual volume of €1.7 billion in 2016, i.e. 133% up from the previous year. The most popular type of assets were offices with a share of 56%, followed by retail at 25%, while industrial deals accounted for 11% of the overall volume.

At the end of last year Colliers sold the former Bricostore DIY-unit in Törökbálint to Régió, a Hungarian toy company. The building has approx. 12,000 sqm of GLA and will be used by Régió for warehousing purposes.

Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland AG has signed an agreement to sell the Construdava office building in Bucharest to AdamAmerica, the advisor of the seller, Colliers International reported.

Nordea Bank AB Branch in Poland is one of the new tenants of Olivia Star, a newly constructed building of the Olivia Business Centre in Gdańsk. It leased two floors there occupying nearly 2600 sqm. Colliers International supported the Scandinavian firm in this transaction.