Tenant requirements have changed significantly which means that offices need to be maintained at the highest quality in order to retain the workforce. Panellists discussed the future of the office market at the Portfolio FM & Office 2018 conference that was held in Budapest last week.

Total demand on the Budapest industrial market amounted to 103,790 sqm in Q1 2018, marking a 45% year-on-year increase. At the end of the first quarter, there were only four existing schemes with more than 5,000 sqm of available warehouse space. The Budapest Research Forum published its quarterly industrial market analysis.

Belgian developer Atenor is starting its latest large-scale project, Aréna Business Campus which is located in the 8th district of Budapest. The real estate developer, listed on Euronext Brussels, bought the 19,000 square meters site under 30 Hungária Boulevard last September, on which a Class A+ office complex of nearly 72,000 square meters will be built.

The office vacancy rate has decreased to 7.3%, representing a 0.2 pps reduction quarter-on-quarter - the lowest rate ever recorded on Budapest office market. The Budapest Research Forum published its latest figures.

Zeitgeist Asset Management, a company specializing in property development and asset management services for private and institutional investors, has expanded its portfolio by the acquisition of a new property for a German pension fund, administered by Institutional Investment Partners. The residential project is located in downtown Budapest.

Futureal Group has started the construction of the second phase of its Advance Tower office building located at the Váci office corridor in Budapest, Hungary. The expansion of the office complex will offer an additional 8,000 square meters of GLA. Advance Tower’s second phase receiving the international WELL Building Platinum Precertification is expected to be handed over in the second half of 2019.

CTP is significantly expanding activities on the Hungarian market. The company announced two new land acquisitions in strategic locations during its presentation for real estate agents and journalists. The first plot of land is located in Biatorbágy, and the second land plot is near Dunaharaszti, which is one of CTP’s newest locations. These acquisitions are a result of CTP’s expansion plan, which will increase the value of assets owned by the group in Hungary from €250 million to €320 million by the end of 2018.

The Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors relaunched the questionnaire-based survey research on Budapest’s commercial real estate market, with the review period of H2 2017. Over the preceding two years the typical rent for commercial properties observed for most property types has increased by more than 15 percent until the end of the second half of 2017. Prime yields for the office market and shopping centres approached the historical minimum observed in 2007 with 10-25 basis points. Most of the survey respondents expect an increase in demand in both the investment and the tenant markets for commercial properties in the next 6 months, however, with regards the development activity, the majority of respondents foresee an unchanged level or a drop in demand for several types of property.

Hungarian entrepreneur Sándor Demján has died at the age of 74 on 26 March, Gránit Pólus, of which he was the Founder and Chairman, announced.

A new Class A office building in downtown Budapest was inaugurated on this week. The building under Markó Street 9, originally used as an electrical transformer house, has now received a new identity. The 2,630 sqm floor area of the five-storey building – two of which come with a loft – is tailored primarily to meet requirements of creative workshops, start-up companies and other undertaking taking an up-to-date approach in general.