Rebounding industrial production and easing inflation are helping the Slovak economy to avoid recession. In the industrial market, it is visible robust construction growth and demand surge. The office sector is resilient but vacant subleased spaces are increasing, while the rental rates are stable amid yield increases. Nevertheless, Slovakia's retail sector is facing challenging dynamics as market limitations amplify alongside a cautious expansion trend, largely due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Cushman & Wakefield reports in its Marketbeat Analysis for Q2 2023.

The retail sector has been leading the investment activity in the first half of 2023 across CEE, having a share of 35% of the total volume of transactions that reached around €2.02 billion, according to a Colliers report.

The current industrial stock of close to 7 million sqm of industrial projects in Romania has the potential to support the accelerated growth of power generation systems based on photovoltaic panels installed on the rooftops of warehouses. 

The second quarter of 2023 in the Czech Republic was characterized by record industrial construction, with more than 60 percent of it already pre-leased. The vacancy rate rose slowly to the current 1.7 percent, indicating a prevailing market sentiment that sees speculative construction and a recent-record high amount of space under construction, according to the latest analysis by the Industrial Reserch Forum.

Panattoni has completed the construction of a production plant in Silesia. The developer has delivered a 21,000 sqm centre to Hager Group, the leading provider of electric installation solutions and services. The factor will primarily be used for the production of electrical safety equipment. 

The German retailer has secured an 18,000 sqm industrial space in HelloParks Páty, located in the western suburbs of Budapest. The new facility will serve as a regional warehouse centre for the company. DM will move in at the end of November 2023.

In Q2 2023, the Greater Budapest speculative industrial stock increased by 65,580 sqm, adding six buildings to the stock, while in Regional Hungary, one new building was handed over. The vacancy rate at the end of Q2 2023 was 8.6% in Greater Budapest, an increase of 270 basis points quarter-on-quarter and an increase of 220 basis points year-on-year, the Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

Halls A1 and B1, completed in the first phase of Wing’s East Gate Pro Business Park development, located near Budapest, have received a BREEAM International New Construction certification with a “Very Good” rating. The first phase has 100% occupancy. Hall A2 is scheduled to be completed in late summer.

Romanian medical equipment distributor Dentstore has expanded its leased warehousing capacity in CTPark Bucharest to 8,500 sqm in a bid to accommodate higher demand from Romania and Bulgaria.

Exyte Technology will lease 12,600 sqm at VGP Park Ústí nad Labem City as a new tenant. There will be 3 halls in total within the VGP Park, one will be finished this year, and the other two are being prepared.