The traditional December shopping surge has weakened across Europe, with Romania recording a 20% increase in non-food sales during the holiday month compared to the previous 11 months, according to Colliers analysis of Eurostat data from 2015-2024.

After nearly four years of large-scale invasion, Ukraine faces growing challenges in its recovery, the URE Club writes in an article for Property Forum.. According to the updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA-4) released in February 2025, the total needs for reconstruction and rehabilitation for the next ten years amount to $524 billion.

Digitalisation of the construction permitting process has proven to be a significant obstacle to the development of cities and municipalities, according to the recent CEEC Research survey. In practice, it is still not working as expected. On a scale from 0 (completely non-functional) to 10 (fully functional), city representatives have given the system an average score of 3.40.

The Trump administration has imposed 100% tariffs on a range of imports from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, accusing both countries of deepening ties with China. This marks the first time a U.S. president has taken such a step against a European nation over relations with Beijing.

The European hospitality industry is bracing for shifts in transatlantic travel dynamics, as declining U.S. visitor flows threaten key tourism markets, according to Colliers’ latest EMEA Hospitality report.

Despite major divestments, the CPI Property Group has not managed to reduce its debt to the extent that rating agencies would return it to the investment grade, making its debts enormously more expensive. Due to increasing financial pressure, the owner is willing to consider buyout offers, according to six independent sources, reports e15.cz.

A recent panel discussion financing new investments in Romania, organised at our Bucharest Business Forum 2025 event, provided a nuanced and comprehensive overview of the country's economic landscape, bringing together key experts from international financial institutions and the real estate sector to explore the current market dynamics, challenges, and emerging opportunities.

In a significant political shift for CEE, Romania elected Nicușor Dan as president on May 18, 2025, while Poland's pro-European candidate Rafał Trzaskowski narrowly led the first round of its presidential election. These outcomes suggest a regional move toward centrist, pro-EU leadership.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has cut its 2025 growth forecast for its regions by 0.2 percentage points to 3.0%, with a moderate rebound to 3.4% expected in 2026. This follows a similar downgrade in February and reflects mounting global headwinds, including rising trade policy uncertainty, softening external demand, and newly imposed tariffs.

Property Forum is excited to publish the results of its CEE investment market sentiment survey ahead of CEE Property Forum 2024 in Vienna. The results, providing an overview of market expectations across the region, are now available online.