Increasing political risk on a global level has helped investors look past country risks associated with CEE markets and focus on strong fundamentals coupled with solid economic growth. Jeff Alson, Partner and Head of CEE Investment Team at Cushman & Wakefield talked to Property Forum about his expectations for the investment market.

Tenant demand for modern logistics and manufacturing space in Poland is growing at a rapid pace. In H1 2017, warehouse supply totalled 707,000 sqm while take-up hit a record high of 1,786,000 sqm, as revealed in Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report.

Free office space is dwindling in the Czech Republic. The office vacancy rate in Brno, as well as in Prague, has slipped below 10%. Both cities experience the lowest rate of vacant offices in the last decade. Brno recorded a sharp decline by 2.4 percentage points in H1 2017, while in the capital demand totalled 153,500 sqm in Q2 2017, up 45% on the previous quarter and 36.9% year-on-year. Overall, more than 370 deals were closed in Prague in H1 2017, many of which were pre-leases. In contrast, in Brno there was an 8% drop in lettings compared to H2 2016.

Investment volumes in Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia and Turkey) reached €7 billion in H1 2017. This is 6% less than in the same period of the previous year.

Central and Eastern European markets are booming and most segments of the property business are growing rapidly, thus providing an opportunity for advisory firms to expand. Jonathan Hallett, Managing Partner for Central Europe talked to Property Forum about Cushman & Wakefield’s plans for the region.

The Czech Republic has become the top performer of the Central European region in terms of the volume of investment that has flowed into commercial real estate since the beginning of 2017. Unlike the preceding years when Poland was the clear number one, the largest amount has been invested in the Czech Republic, even though the country’s market is roughly one half the size of its larger neighbour’s market. 

The Polish office market has seen rapid growth with Warsaw’s office stock more than doubling over the last ten years, as revealed by Cushman & Wakefield in its cyclical report Skyline Tracker, outlining modern office supply forecasts.

The volume of hotel transactions achieved in the first half of 2017 was more than €700 million with 34 transactions recorded in core CEE markets. In comparison, 2016 achieved just over €630 million with 20 transactions in the same period, which means an 11% yearly increase. To compare, the western markets experienced just 0.3%. Cushman & Wakefield predicts the year 2017 to outperform the strong results of 2016.

Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed property manager of Krakow’s office complex Zabłocie Business Park. The scheme is owned by IMS Budownictwo, a local housing developer.

There are currently 192 retail parks in the Czech Republic, moreover 66 retail parks, totalling approximately area of 300 000 sqm, are planned to be constructed. The existing parks account for more than 790 000 sqm of retail space, 752 000 sqm of which is occupied. Hence the vacancy rate stands at 4,8% and is lower than in the previous years. These are the findings of Cushman & Wakefield’s recent detailed market research. The survey results are summed up in a map that is just being released. The map includes all existing and planned retail parks in the Czech Republic.