Companies have rented almost 70,000 square meters of office space in Bucharest in Q1 2018, according to JLL. One-third of the demand came from companies that formerly had their headquarters in old, small buildings or in other different from modern buildings (non-competitive stock). This segment of demand increased compared to last year when it accounted for only 7% of the total take-up.

In Q1 2018, industrial space totalling 181,900 sqm was completed across the Czech Republic, but speculative construction accounted only for 2% of all new developments. The Industrial Research Forum announced the preliminary industrial market figures for Q1 2018.

The Focus Estate Fund has acquired Park Handlowy Eden (Galeria Eden), Zgorzelec (Poland). Focus intends to invest more than €1.5 million in repositioning the 8,500 sqm retail centre with the support of its partner in development and leasing, Młyn Retail Parks Sp. z o.o.

S Immo Hungary, owner of River Estates office building located at the junction of Váci road and Dózsa György road, co-exclusively assigned JLL and Robertson Hungary real estate agencies to lease 9,200 square meters of quality office space.

Łódź is busy readying itself for an influx of new companies. The city is investing in its road and transport infrastructure as well as revitalizing some of the city's quarters. As a result, Łódź is attracting more investors.These include companies from the rapidly expanding business services sector which are fuelling the expansion of Łódź's office market. New office clusters are being developed throughout the city. In 2018, the city will gain another 45,000 sqm of modern space. However, the business services sector is not the only sector that is powering the city’s economy, according to JLL.

Landlords and tenants have become more educated in recent years. Landlords know better what to request from PM providers and tenants know what they should expect in a modern office building. Mariana Stamate, Associate Director, Head of Property Management at JLL Romania provided an overview of the property management business in Romania.

By the end of 2017, total retail stock in the Warsaw agglomeration amounted to 1.76 million sqm, of which shopping centres accounted for 1.2 million sqm. Other formats include retail parks (276,000 sqm), standalone retail objects (212,000 sqm) and outlet centres (57,000 sqm). Approximately 85,000 sqm of space was delivered to the Warsaw retail market last year with the largest completed object being Galeria Północna (64,000 sqm). Furthermore, the saturation level in the shopping centre format totalled 472 sqm / 1,000 inhabitants and was the third lowest rate among the eight major metropolitan areas nationwide. JLL summarised 2017 on the retail market in the Warsaw agglomeration.

REICO investiční společnost České spořitelny, a.s. has acquired, on behalf of the ČS nemovitostní fond, their first prime industrial asset in Slovakia from developer and investor Invest4SEE Investment Holding GmbH. JLL advised REICO IS ČS on their first industrial acquisition in Slovakia with a transaction value of €38.9 million.

New projects are building up slowly, the number of commenced constructions are declining and high demand remains. At the end of last year, approximately 8,100 units were under construction in Prague. This is the lowest result since 2014. The total number of completions reached 6,176 apartments which is 5% below 2016 levels. 2018 will most probably not bring a major change, rather the opposite. In 2018, the construction of around 3,800 new flats will commence, the lowest figure since 2009. About 5,000 units will be completed, marking a significant decline compared to 2017.

Up to 500,000 sqm of office space was leased in 2017 by companies from the business services sector. The positive trend should continue in 2018. According to the estimates by ABSL, 50 new centres will likely open in the upcoming months, which will, in turn, lead to high demand for office space. JLL analysed the activity of companies from the business services sector in Poland in 2017.