Diófa Asset Management has appointed Roland Bogár as its new Real Estate Investment Director, the company said in a press release. Bogár has nearly 15 years of real estate experience, during which time he has taken part in numerous property deals in Hungary and in the CEE region. He will now play an active role in coordinating activities related to Diófa's real estate portfolio and in setting the direction of the company's property strategy.

The government’s recently announced measures to curb construction material prices were published in the Official Gazette late on Thursday, including the supplementary mining tax, a new type of tax for certain market players.

Wing has completed the first Hungarian unit of B&B Hotels, having converted the former Angyal office building in Boráros Square, on the bank of the Danube in Budapest. The hotel features a restaurant, a bar, a rooftop bar with a view, two meeting rooms, and an underground parking garage with electric charging stations. The new hotel will welcome its first guests in the summer of 2021.

The sentiment of Hungarian real estate investors is becoming more and more optimistic, which is reflected in their continuously increasing willingness to invest, according to CBRE's survey. Offices are expected to remain the most traded asset type, but demand for alternative investment opportunities has increased significantly. The biggest challenges of the coming year may be pricing asymmetry between sellers and buyers, as well as a lack of stock for sale.

IBM Hungary is relocating its headquarters to Corvin Quarter in Budapest. The tech company will be moving into Futureal’s Corvin Innovation Campus in a phased co-location starting in 2023.

Experts participating at Portfolio's recent FM & Hybrid Office conference in Budapest discussed the present and future of the office market. The past 18 months have started a multitude of changes as WFH, the sub-leasing of office space, the change in internal configurations, the return to offices, sustainable management and changing tenant requirements have led to a substantial transformation in the lives of office market players. Experts agree that hybrid office use is currently the most likely outcome, as only a few businesses have adopted WFH full-time.

Companies from the BPO sector may be reducing their offices in North America or Western Europe, but they are taking up more space in CEE at the same time. Yovav Carmi, CEO of GTC talked to Property Forum about issuing green bonds, ESG strategies and the BPO industry.

CTP has increased its rental portfolio to some 664,000 sqm gross with the completion of its latest project in Biatorbágy. The company has been developing its industrial parks, with 235,000 sqm of new space in advanced stages of construction and a further 322,000 sqm to start construction in the near future with an added emphasis on sustainability.

Living, Wing’s residential property development umbrella brand, has completed its new residential park, Metropolitan Garden, in District 13, near Béke tér. Metropolitan Garden offers homes of various sizes between 30 sqm and 110 sqm in area. Each apartment has a balcony and is equipped with smart solutions.

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, the digitalisation of products and processes is one of the new standards in the global construction sector. All indications are that the construction industry is also following in its footsteps. After the leaders from the office real estate sector, other leading companies on the Polish market, this time from the residential and logistics sector, are deciding on comprehensive digitisation of administrative processes at construction sites of their investments. Cordia Polska and 7R have signed long-term cooperation agreements with BauApp, a provider of a mobile application, tailored to the specific needs of companies operating in the CEE market.