Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA structured finance team has secured a €50+ million refinancing for Budapest’s Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace on behalf of SAS Holding Kft, the owner of the hotel building.

Total leasing activity amounted to 84,600 sqm on the Budapest industrial market in Q3 2016, which marks a 9% decrease on the previous quarter and a 37% ascent on a yearly basis.  The Budapest Research Forum has published its quarterly industrial market analysis.

The vacancy rate has increased for the first time in two years on the Budapest office market in Q3 2016. Still, net absorption reached a positive volume, reflecting a healthy market environment. The Budapest Research Forum has published its quarterly office market analysis.

Futureal Group is extending its portfolio with a new office building. Located at the Váci office corridor, Advance Tower is the second phase of the group’s ongoing project that involves the development of nearly 100 square meters of office space in the capital. 

Central and Eastern European housing markets are over the crisis and prices have once again begun to rise. The general upswing, observed on European housing markets, is supported by a number of factors. Following the economic crisis, GDP has begun to grow once again in most countries and the interest environment is also favourable to borrowing. These both contribute to a recovery in housing market demand, which may then materialise in higher prices. In the case of housing markets in the Central and Eastern European region, significant differences in price dynamics may be observed. Hungary stands out from the field, where a highly significant price rise has been observed in the past two years with the prices of second-hand homes having grown by 29 percent. We take a look at Central and Eastern European housing markets.

Hungarian retail sales and turnover continue to show healthy growth, buoyed by the abolition of the Sunday closing law after barely one year in effect. Retailer demand is unbroken but remains pressed by the lack of available supply resulting in upward pressure on rents. Fashion retailers remained the most active in H1 2016, followed by the footwear and F&B segments which both expanded significantly, according to the latest Retail Market View published by CBRE.

The owner of East-West Business Center, which is the oldest modern office building of Budapest, has decided to start refurbishment of their landmark property.

TriGranit has completed the sale of two assets. Millennium Towers, an office complex in Budapest, has been sold to CA Immo for €175 million and Bonarka City Center, a shopping mall in Krakow has been purchased by Rockcastle. The developer will remain the property manager of both assets.

This year has witnessed new players entering Central and Eastern European markets which, when combined with investments from the region's traditional players, has further increased CEE investment activity. Colliers, Skanska and JLL has released a joint report that analyses the region’s potential as an investment location.

Futureal Group has announced that their latest retail development in Budapest, Etele Plaza is now in negotiations with a number of anchor tenants and they are hoping to confirm the first brands by end of Q1 2017. Located in the south-western part of Budapest, Etele Plaza is expected to attract up to 40,000 shoppers a day. This will be the first large-scale retail development in the Hungarian capital since the opening of Árkád 2 in 2013.