The Center - West area (Politehnica, Orhideea, Cotroceni) has become the largest office hub in Bucharest, overtaking the Floreasca – Barbu Văcărescu submarket in Q1 2023, according to research by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. This area is set to maintain its leading position in the medium term, considering the current development pipeline in the city. 

Romanian investors have made real estate acquisitions worth €1.1 billion in the last 5 years, having a share of 28% in the investment volume recorded in this period, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

The developers of Belvedere Residence in northern Bucharest sold the commercial gallery on the ground floor of the residential buildings within the complex to a private investor for an undisclosed sum. 

The average office fit-out costs in Romania rose by around 20-30% in 2022 due to a combination of supply chain pressures and higher materials’ costs, which saw companies paying an average of €820 per sqm of office space, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

The 4-star K+K Elisabeta hotel located in the Bucharest city center has been sold to Lorand and Zsuzsanna Szarvadi, the owners of the Balvanyos Resort & Spa in Covasna for an undisclosed sum. 

The modern office stock in regional Romanian cities is set to reach around 1.3 million sqm in the next five years if the planned projects spanning 275,000 sqm will be delivered in this period, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

New demand in Bucharest's office market (new leases, pre-leases and relocations from non-competitive stock) had a share of 57% or 185,000 sqm of the total office take-up in 2022. Demand itself was up 10% year-on-year, according to a study by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Real estate investment volumes in CEE reached almost €10.7 billion during 2022, up 6.6% compared to the previous year, with Poland accounting for 54% of all transactions, trailed by the Czech Republic and Romania with shares of 14% and 12%, respectively, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Some 100,000 sqm of new retail spaces were delivered last year in Romania, of which 80% were integrated in retail parks, while new projects with a leasable area of around 230,000 sqm are expected in 2023, which would be a 6-year high, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Real estate investors and developers active in Romania argue that inflation, the increasing financing costs, the geopolitical situation and also the increasing construction costs are the main macroeconomic factors which may impact the Romanian real estate market, as these factors are expected to put pressure both on demand and on the rental levels. However, despite all the above-mentioned issues, investors remain positive and their expansion plans in Romania are mostly intact, according to the first edition of Cushman & Wakefield Echinox's “Real Estate Investors Sentiment Barometer”.