After a relative stagnation in previous quarters, Q2 2021 saw a considerable expansion in the Activity Start indicator of the EBI Construction Activity Report. It was the first three months of 2018 last that witnessed a higher value of construction works to start in a quarter. In H1 2021, projects entered the construction phase on a total of HUF 1,398 billion, marking a significant increase of 20% and 18%, respectively, against the same period of the previous two years.

According to the Czech analyst of Euroconstruct, David Frič, Czech construction certainly did not evade the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the industry fell by 3.6% in 2020 and is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels in the next two years.

The growth potential of the Polish construction market will remain significant through 2026 on the back of the continuation of ambitious road and railway infrastructure projects, the required power transformation of the Polish economy and the steadily robust performance of the residential construction sector. A vast majority of projects underway or planned to implemented are located in the six most economically advanced regions, which jointly account for two-thirds of the construction market’s value.

Bogdan Doicescu, Director Of Development at Bog’Art spoke with Property Forum about the current state of the construction market and shared the company’s plans for the upcoming years. Consistent with the company's strategy to diversify its portfolio, Bog’Art has recently targeted public works with greater interest, both civil works as well as infrastructure.

The government’s recently announced measures to curb construction material prices were published in the Official Gazette late on Thursday, including the supplementary mining tax, a new type of tax for certain market players.

In the first year of the pandemic, the construction market of the SEE region as a whole remained in the positive, and further expansion is expected until 2023. The only exception is Bulgaria where a harsh transition is foreseen for 2023 when the 2014-2020 EU programming period ends financially. The massive growth experienced in the years before 2020 is not anticipated to return. around 3% growth is projected for 2021 and 2022, and a 3% drop for 2023. The countries with the largest cumulated growth on the forecast horizon are Croatia and Serbia, according to the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association’s 2021 Summer Construction Forecast Report.

The retail, industrial and logistics sectors have been affected by the recent price increase of crucial construction commodities mostly steel, plastic and wood, according to a report by 108 Agency.

Arcadis published its Global Construction Disputes Report 2021 comparing the length, value, and ways of solving construction disputes in particular regions of Europe, Asia and North America.

According to the new forecast presented by WIFO, the Austrian partner of the Euroconstruct network, construction in the Euroconstruct area is set to register a 3.8% growth this year. Yet, Hungary still awaits negative growth rates this year, although the drop in 2021 is foreseen to be lower than last year.

At the end of May, the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, has approved an amendment to the building law that aims to accelerate approvals on large construction projects. If approved by the Senate and signed by the President, it should come into force on July 1, 2023. Property Forum asked two renowned market experts for their comments on the possible changes.