2016’s record-breaking €12.2 billion investment in the real estate sector in the CEE region is likely to be surpassed in 2017 – this is according to CEE Real Estate Investment Compass 2017 published by Colliers International and CMS. The sources of investment flows into the CEE region are also expected to remain diverse in 2017, with Asian and CEE investors becoming increasingly active in the real estate market.

The departure of ICU Medical from the manufacturing complex in the southwestern Slovak city of Vráble, made a modern light–industrial facility available for sale on a vacant possession basis. The complex consists of facility with a gross usable area of 7,000 sqm and 3 ha of available land for further development The new owner, Slovak company TESGAL, provides surface treatments of metal parts used mostly in the automotive and consumer industry. 

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed Polish property group Echo Polska Properties (EPP) raised approximately ZAR2.2 billion (around €150 million) in an accelerated bookbuilding through the placing of app. 119 million new shares at a price of ZAR18.50 per share. Capital will be used to previously announced acquisitions and for further M&A opportunities in the retail segment within Poland.

Atenor confirmed the closing of the sale of the third building of the Váci Greens campus in Budapest to Hungarian real estate fund OTP Prime Ingatlanbefektetesi Alap and consequently the collection of the full sale price, i.e. €63.75 million. Váci Greens B comprises 25,300 sqm of office space and 399 basement parking spaces. 

With the sale of its 51% holding in the Aerozone logistics park to M7 CEREF I in Budapest, CA Immo has completed the strategic withdrawal from the logistics segment that began in 2012. Over the past few years, almost 500,000 sqm of logistical space in total has been sold in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Germany. 

In 2017, following its international assessment, CBRE has created a survey among real estate investors in Hungary asking them about their market expectations. At the CBRE Investment Breakfast investors turned out to be optimistic about the future. 43% of the respondents stated that the investment market might grow even by one-fifth from last year’s €1.5 billion and 23% stated that this year they might reach their highest turnover ever.

First Property Group has agreed to sell one of its three directly held properties in Romania, a logistics warehouse in Ploiesti, for €3.2 million.  The purchaser, Aquila Part Prod SRL is also the current occupier of the property. 

Paris claimed top spot in Colliers International’s Hotel Investment Attractiveness Index, an analysis of the investment climate of 20 European cities, despite predictions that investors and tourists would lose faith in the city due to political uncertainty and the perceived threat following various national security breaches. Prague was ranked in 10th place in the index, boosted by the low level of development costs and high number of tourist arrivals.

CPI Property Group announced that its subsidiaries have acquired a retail portfolio with the value of approx. €650 million consisting of predominantly 11 shopping centres located in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania with a total leasable area of approximately 265,000 sqm from two funds managed by CBRE Global Investors. The closing of the deal was completed on 29 March, 2017. 

SEE Property Forum 2017, a real estate conference co-organised by Property Forum and RICS, has been held for the third time in Bucharest. 50 speakers and more than 200 visitors came together in the capital to analyse the potential of the Romanian real estate market from a global perspective.