The WING Liget Center multi-building development will involve not only the reconstruction of two buildings listed as historic monuments – serving as the main offices for TV channel RTL – but a brand-new boutique office building named Liget Center Vitrum will also be completed in the autumn. Construction is proceeding on schedule, and the Vitrum building is now structurally complete. Vitrum is a nearly zero energy building and will offer a total of 2,200 square metres of leasable office space over six floors. The building will be handed over in its shell and core stage in autumn 2024.

With the addition of János Gárdai in April and Dr. Ildikó Rézműves in May, Biggeorge Property Plc.'s top management was further expanded. The two new directors are responsible for the areas of asset management and communications in the Hungarian company. János Gárdai also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. The organizational transformation is driven by expansion goals and the objective of optimizing current operations.

Atenor announced that the first phase of its BakerStreet project in Budapest has successfully obtained its occupancy permit. This Class A+ office complex located in South Buda was planned and built according to the strictest ESG criteria. The leasing agreement for the entire building of 16,643 sqm was signed by E.ON Hungaria Group, the German energy solutions giant. Tenants are scheduled to commence occupancy starting in June.

Regus Centerpoint will be a workspace with co-working spaces, private offices, meeting rooms and creative spaces. This opening follows a partnership agreement with GTC Hungary, who has invested in the IWG platform to create a branded flexible workspace in their building.

The vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2024 reached 8.9% in Greater Budapest, representing a 0.3 percentage points increase quarter-on-quarter, while an increase of 3 percentage points was registered year-on-year, the Budapest Research Forum reports.

The office vacancy rate increased to 13.8% in the first quarter of 2024, representing a 0.4 pps growth quarter-on-quarter and 1.5 pps increase year-on-year. However, the net take-up showed a healthy 25% growth, the Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

Tourism and the commercial real estate industry would both benefit from the existence of theme parks in CEE. Demand is real and exists, however, there are several challenges to address for both investors and developers. Property Forum asked Róbert Székely, Senior Hospitality and Leisure Advisor at Newmark VLK Hungary, to give an overview of the potential of such parks in our region.

Time Out Market Budapest is set to open in 2025 at Corvin Palace at Blaha Lujza Square. The historic department store first opened in 1926 and has recently been renovated back to its original neoclassical state and redeveloped as a mixed-use real estate property offering retail, leisure and a hotel, timeout.com reports.

Futureal Group’s subsidiary, Cordia Zrt. has kicked off its new mega project called Marina City, aiming to build 2,500 apartments, recreational facilities and several amenities on a former industrial site at the river Danube. The HUF 400 billion (€1 billion) project is a landmark development in the northern part of the Hungarian capital.

As development activity has slowed down, the focus is shifting to managing the existing stock across the whole commercial real estate market. Owners and other stakeholders have to adapt rapidly to serve changing demand from occupiers, said Benjamin Perez Ellischewitz MRICS, Principal at Avison Young in Hungary, while answering Property Forum’s questions at Mipim in Cannes.