The Hungarian residential rental property market continues to be a mixed bag based on current asking prices, according to the latest monthly survey of real estate portal ingatlan.com, which presents the latest joint rent index of ingatlan.com and the Central Statistical Office (KSH) for March and summarises the supply and average rent as of the end of April based on 40,000 ads.

S Immo is ramping up its development activities in CEE with a new office project in Budapest. An ensemble consisting of three office buildings offering roughly 29,000 sqm of usable space will be built on Váci Road, one of the most important office locations in the Hungarian capital. The most significant structure is an 11-storey building located directly on Váci Road. The company plans to obtain sustainability certification according to BREEAM and WELL.

Retail chain Penny Market will expand one of its three logistics centres in Hungary. The project, which is expected to be completed by August 2022, will add 30,000 sqm to the company's facility in Karcag, Eastern Hungary, increasing its storage capacity. Penny Market will also create new jobs through the one-year project.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has successfully subscribed to a €67 million ticket as part of an inaugural eight-year €600 million green bond issuance by VGP NV, a pan-European provider of logistics and semi-industrial real estate. EBRD’s investment will support the development of sustainable semi-industrial and logistics parks in Hungary, Latvia, Romania and the Slovak Republic.

Hungarian real estate developer Biggeorge Property is expanding its management team. The company's strategy for the next five years targets further substantial growth and the new managers were added to help achieve these goals, owner-CEO Tibor Nagygyörgy said.

The Q1 2021 results of the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor indicate a slightly less negative market sentiment across Europe compared to the previous quarter. Rental growth expectations remain negative within the office and retail sectors across all European nations covered, while the outlook for industrial markets has never been more positive.

Prologis has started a new speculative development at Prologis Park Budapest-Sziget II which is set to be delivered by the end of the year. A new 11,600 sqm warehouse building is now under development at the park, where 48,000 sqm of potential development space remains available.

GTC has decided to boost its Hungarian portfolio again by investing €160 million in the acquisition of two office properties in Budapest, the Ericsson HQ and the Siemens Evosoft HQ, both developed by local company Wing.

Three years ago, Aldi installed its first solar power plant in its store in Sopron, followed by the unit in Budaörs. Experiences have shown that the company was able to generate two months' worth of electricity consumption this way, which motivated it to expand the initiative. Aldi will install solar panels on the rooftops of 16 stores nationwide. It expects each plant to cover at least two months' electricity supply in the given store.

Total demand on Budapest’s industrial market amounted to 81,820 sqm in Q1 2021, indicating some 3% increase on the volume measured in the corresponding period of the previous year. Pre-leases dominated the demand with a share of 45%, according to the BRF’s quarterly report.