According to a survey conducted by Savills involving real estate investors with total Europe and Middle East assets under management (AuM) exceeding €500 billion, almost a third of investors are looking to adopt a more aggressive, value-added investment strategy over the next 12 months. This is up from 14% on last year’s survey, with only 28% expecting to deploy a more defensive strategy over the next 12 months, down from 55% last year.

The warehouse sector in the CEE region, although experiencing temporary problems, retains its attractiveness. The directions of its further development may vary depending on the location - this is how the panel discussion  „Full speed ahead – What's driving logistics developments?” could be summarised in brief. It was a part of the CEE Property Forum 2023 conference, which was held in September in Vienna by Property Forum.  

Romania attracted around €1.2 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) from real estate and construction companies during 2022, accounting for 17.2% of the total investment volume recorded in the country, according to central bank data analyzed by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

In a strategic move to strengthen its presence in the Croatian real estate market, ALFI Real Estate Fund (ALFI RE) recently added another gem to its investment portfolio. The acquisition of the Matrix B office building in Zagreb's bustling business district marks a significant milestone for the Fund, propelling its real estate portfolio value to over €100 million.

During the first half of 2023, investment activity remained low due to increased financial costs and an uncertain outlook. As a result, there was a need for more price discovery across all sectors. In Poland, we are witnessing a similar tendency in European countries and the United States, and one of these trends is a reduction in investment volume. The rise in interest rates had a significant impact on transaction valuations and investment activity, leading to a challenge in determining the size, speed, and duration of price adjustments. JLL experts presented an analysis of investors' activity in Poland in comparison to CEE countries.

SEE is still a land of opportunities but things go too slowly. The size of a single country is too small for international institutional investors who prefer to buy large portfolios rather than individual assets. However, sizeable local players were optimistic about the change in foreign investors’ attitudes at the panel devoted to the investment market in this region at CEE Property Forum 2023 in Vienna.

J&T Real Estate has purchased two hectares of building land on Rohanský island in Prague's Karlín district from the Rohan Consortium, in which Sekyra Group has a half share. In the future, J&T Real Estate plans to buy another two hectares and build the Nový Rohan district for CZK 15 billion (€613.5 million). The company did not disclose the specific price of the acquisition but said the value of one square metre exceeded CZK 20,000 (€818), ČTK reported, cited by online daily newstream.cz.

For many real estate market leaders who came to Expo Real 2023, it was an opportunity to look for new investment opportunities in the face of more difficult macroeconomic and economic conditions in the world. Experts from Walter Herz advisory agency share their insights on the current situation in the Polish property market. 

“In times of change, Expo Real once again confirms how important personal exchange is for the real estate industry”, says Markus Arnold, CEO and sole owner of Arnold Investments. This is also the reason why the company is on site with an international team from ten countries and an unchanged large exhibition stand.

Despite the slowdown, the CEE investment market remains strong with local investors playing a more vital role than ever. The most active dealmakers discussed what sells today and will drive market activity tomorrow at CEE Property Forum 2023 in Vienna.