Investors are still on hold today. As Property Forum’s recent survey showed, two-thirds of investors are expected to continue to take a ‘wait and see’ stance and look for a better vision of the future in the coming period. But, as the speakers of the investor expectations panel of SEE Property Forum 2024 showed, there are opportunities available all over CEE, including Romania.

Property Forum is excited to announce the results of its second annual investment market sentiment survey focusing on the Romanian market which was conducted ahead of SEE Property Forum 2024. The results, providing an overview of market expectations across sectors, are now available online.

Ghelamco has secured bank financing for its key project in Poland – The Bridge office complex in downtown Warsaw. The construction and investment loan was provided to the developer by Santander Bank Polska, which will also be an anchor tenant of the skyscraper.

With the first interest rate cuts in the Eurozone in a long time, optimism has also returned to the banking sector, as the participants of the banker panel at the CEE Property Financing Update 2024 conference unanimously concluded. However, it is limited by factors such as the uncertain political situation in the United States or the EU taxonomy, through which many older buildings may become troubled assets for their owners. The event, held at the end of September in Warsaw, was organised by Property Forum and law firm CMS.

Karimpol Polska has secured financing of €50 million from Bank Pekao S.A. for the second phase of Skyliner investment at Rondo Daszyńskiego in Warsaw. This marks another collaboration between the investor and the bank, which also financed the construction of the first tower of the complex.

Panattoni has been issued financing for the construction of City Logistics Warsaw Airport IV. The €17.25 million loan was granted by Santander Bank Polska.

Monia Dobrescu, Partner at Mușat & Asociații, spoke to Property Forum about the growing role of ESG criteria in bank financing of real estate projects and the prospects for investment in the local market in 2024.

Invesco Real Estate has completed its first mezzanine lending deal in Central Europe on behalf of Invesco Real Estate Europe Fund III – SCSp (Europe III). The €20 million loan has been secured against the BTS logistics facility in Psary (Upper Silesia, Poland), recently completed by DL Invest. 

Bogdan Doicescu, CEO, Bog’Art Holding Management, spoke to Property Forum about the company’s expansion of its public works portfolio and the significant growth potential of the construction industry in the next period.

The debt markets in Europe remain resilient. An extensive survey by CBRE among 130 companies shows that the lending environment is on a solid footing for when investment activity starts to pick up in the second half of 2024. Nearly two-thirds of respondents expect a recovery compared to last year with refinancing being the main source of demand. Industrial and multifamily are the preferred sectors for lending, with student accommodation and hotels seeing the strongest increase in demand.