Mint Investments’ residential fund (MINT I. rezidenční podfond SICAV) has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of four apartment buildings in Plzeň-Skvrňany with developer Trigema Real Estate. Construction of the 100 apartments for rent is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2022. The parties did not unveil the transaction price.

Zeitraum, an international operator of student housing schemes, has just taken over the management of its first dormitory in Poland as Zeitgeist Asset Management, an investor operating on the Polish market for several years, finalised the purchase of a privately-run student hall located in Kraków from NNS. The asset is located at 33 Koszykarska Street and has been operating under the Unibase brand for three years. It can accommodate 345 people in 157 rooms. The first students will move into the building in September. JLL experts supported the investor in the purchase of the asset.

Residential investment volumes across the CEE region have been limited and averaged out annually at just over €200 million in the past 5 years. The balance between private, owner-occupied dwellings and those that are for rent in CEE lean towards ownership according to “The Private Rental Sector: Has it found a home in CEE?” report just launched by Colliers in collaboration with Greenberg Traurig and Kinstellar. From the stock of existing developer/investor-owned, multiple-unit PRS schemes, the Czech Republic is ahead, followed by Poland and the remaining countries behind that. 

Swedish company Heimstaden is entering the Prague rental market. It has acquired the first 164 units under construction in Prague's Holešovice district as part of the Pergamenka project from developer FINEP.

Heimstaden subsidiary, Heimstaden Bostad AB, is to buy a newly-built residential portfolio with 2,496 homes in Poland for €305 million (SEK 3.1 billion) from leading Polish residential development company, Budimex.

Michał Okoń, Managing Director of Zeitgeist Asset Management in Poland talked to Property Forum about the forecasts for the PRS market in Poland, subscription services and the impact of the pandemic on the rented apartment segment.

New research released by JLL shows that the investment allocation to living assets is set to grow throughout 2021, following the robust performance of the market throughout 2020, which resulted in €83.4 billion being invested into the sector. 59% of investors set to increase investment allocation to European Living assets in 2021, but nearly 80% highlight lack of suitable product as a main barrier to investment.

The third-largest provider of rental housing in Europe, Swedish company Heimstaden plans to almost double its investments into the refurbishment and expansion of its Czech portfolio.

The total stock of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Prague exceeds 28,400 beds. 91% of these capacities are in the ownership of universities and the remaining 9% is provided by the private sector, according to the latest Savills “Student Housing in Prague” report.

Speakers at 2021 Property Investment Outlook 2021, an online event organised by Property Forum, have indicated unbroken market optimism. From living investments through the retail market to the office segment, participants in panel discussions expected positive changes and further growth in the CEE property market.