2015 has proven to be a turning point for both the Hungarian commercial property market and for Cushman & Wakefield, which has merged with DTZ. Adrian Limp MRICS, Head of Valuation & Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield Hungary talked to us about valuation practices in a recovering market.

OTP Real Estate Investment Fund has acquired a 30-thousand-square-metre logistics property within the Industrial Park of Győr. The purchase is part of a portfolio optimization strategy, by which the Fund aims to increase the yields of the OTP Real Estate Investment Fund.

The vacancy rate on the Budapest industrial market declined 2 percentage points to a level below 10%. The Budapest Research Forum has published its Q1 2016 industrial market snapshot.

Wizz Air Hungary Kft., the largest low-cost airline in CEE moved its Budapest headquarters to Laurus Offices in mid-March 2016. Wizz Air is renting nearly 3,200 square meters of office space in building B of the complex, which was developed by Erste Group Immorent Kft., an affiliate of Austria-based Erste Group.

On 11th April, the Hungarian government announced their proposal for parliament to abolish the standing law regarding Sunday closing for retail units. The proposal has already passed through voting in the Parliament on 12th April, theoretically allowing stores to open from Sunday, 17 April 2016. The decision comes little more than a year after the legislation came into effect in March 2015, and is likely a direct consequence of recent developments having paved the way for a referendum on the widely criticized policy. According to CBRE’s experience this is a highly appreciated change in legislation by the industry. 

The Hungarian hotel market is characterised by optimism, which can be observed in both the development and investment markets. Investors in Budapest are planning to begin multiple projects, the capital will soon be see projects with some 600-800 five star and 1000-2000 four or fewer star rooms. Several projects are likely to manifest in the countryside too, where booking and income-profit indicators show a significant increase and provide developers with motivation.

Prologis announced that it has begun development of a 21,000 square metre speculative facility at Prologis Park Budapest-Sziget. This will be the first speculative logistics building in the Hungarian market since 2008. Completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.

According to the CBRE Investment Breakfast Intentions Survey the vast majority of investors expect more than EUR 1 billion of investments in the Hungarian commercial real estate markets in 2016.