During the first quarter of 2023, the volume of investment in commercial real estate exceeded €477 million, a result that far exceeded initial expectations. The reason for these positive figures is a single large transaction into the retail property portfolio, which accounts for the majority of the total quarterly investment volume. This transaction is the reason why most of the funds in the past quarter went to the retail segment. Domestic investors were the most active last quarter, accounting for an unprecedented 87% of the total, according to Knight Frank's analysis of the Czech commercial real estate market.

Logicor continues expanding in the Czech Republic when it acquired a 100,000 sqm brownfield close to Prague, further strengthening its presence in this crucial market and nearly doubling its footprint.

The Czech government has approved the provision of CZK 800 million (€34.27 million) to a programme to support the construction of rental housing. Most of the money will be allocated to municipalities, but private investors who build apartments in cooperation with the municipality can also receive a part of it. Deputy Prime Minister and Regional Development Minister Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) told to čtk.

VGP has concluded a lease contract with Dachser Czech Republic for the lease of new space in VGP Park České Budějovice, situated in the Světlík commercial zone. The hall, with an area of 14,000 sqm will be tailor-made for Dachser, a leading provider of logistic services in Europe. The expected completion date and delivery of premises for use is already in October of this year. The company currently leases another hall in the park, with a total area of 9,424 sqm and with the new building will be expanding its operations at that same location.

Penta Real Estate plans to diversify its real estate portfolio and is preparing for further expansion within Europe. It wants to establish a real estate fund for this purpose, as Marek Dospiva, co-owner of the group, revealed to E15.cz

The Port7 office project by Skanska has received the occupancy permit. Port7 offers 35,800 sqm of premium office and retail space in three buildings, 50 percent of which are leased now. Skanska is now shifting its focus to finishing the nearly 2-hectare public park and the new riverside, which is expected to become the new centre of Prague Holešovice. For better access to the entire area, the developer has built an extension of the railway underpass which directly connects the project with the subway, train, and tram station of Nádraží Holešovice.

Real estate investments have proven their qualities, especially in times of crisis and uncertainties. Therefore, they will remain an attractive investment possibility, says Jan Rydl, Country Manager Czech Republic at Arnold Investments. He talked to Property Forum about investment market trends.

CTP has completed two industrial lettings with 12,000 sqm of space at CTP Park Cerhovice. Two speculatively developed sustainable warehouse spaces have been leased to French global automotive supplier Valeo Vymeniky Tepla s.r.o and leading European logistics operator Raben Logistics Czech s.r.o. CTP plans to develop a further 58,000 sqm in this industrial park by the end of 2024, the company announced.

In the CEE region, Prague placed second in terms of the price of fitting out an office. With €1,159 being the average cost per square metre in Prague, it is just over half of what is standard in top cities in Germany or the UK, where costs often exceed €2,000. Compared with the last year, the prices have grown all over Europe due to inflation and other factors. The 10% increase in Prague means that office occupiers need to carefully consider their office usage and space needs when redesigning their offices. Sustainability and DE&I are also increasingly affecting fit-out requirements, reports Cushman & Wakefield in their latest analysis.

At the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed that many coworking centres or serviced offices could not survive the measures implemented under the Covid-19 pandemic. Shared workspaces, whose philosophy is based on meeting, personal communication, and collaboration, were hit hard by governmental restrictions. But a December analysis by JLL shows promising results; with the retreat of anti-pandemic measures, most coworking and serviced office operators have already felt a new wave of interest, and 2022 has confirmed this trend.