The supply of new Class A office space delivered in Bucharest in 2017 was absorbed almost entirely by demand, as per a report by CBRE regarding the office market in 2017, which also says 90% of the office space area completed in 2017 has already been leased.

Each new office leasing contract signed in Bucharest last year created at least 130 new jobs. Dimitrie Pompeiu and South sub-markets made the top, with more than 200 new jobs per transaction, according to the latest JLL market report.

Appeninn Nyrt. announced the purchase of a historic building in the centre of Budapest for €7 million through the acquisition of holding company Plaza House. Dávid House, located on Andrássy Road and formerly known as Andrássy Palace, has 2400 sqm GLA. It was transformed into a Class A office building in 2001.

In 2017 the residential market took the lead in terms of land deals, recording all-time highs for both the number and value of sale/purchase contracts. The market for land suitable for office buildings and hotels also continued apace in 2017. The appetite of developers for new purchases was underlined by deals for several dozen properties throughout Poland, according to JLL.

M7 Real Estate has completed the sale of Oregon House in Prague on behalf of M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I (M7 CEREF I) to BHS German Real Estate Fund.

Avestus Capital Partners, an Irish real estate investment and asset manager, sold a landmark office building in the heart of Sofia. Moskovska Business Center changed its owner after several months of negotiations with strong interest from local and foreign investors. The buyer is a Bulgarian company owned by private investors with interests in different fields of business. The transaction price has not been disclosed. Cushman & Wakefield Forton acted as an exclusive advisor to the seller.

Poland remains an attractive destination for investments and this is reflected in the impressive results on the office markets both in Warsaw and regional cities. With ambitious plans, investors are looking to the future with optimism. JLL summarized the situation on the Polish office market in 2017.

CPI Property Group announced the disposal of the Budaörs Office Park property in Hungary, located in the Western suburbs of Budapest, at an undisclosed price. The buyer is a Hungarian real estate fund which has not been named.

By the end of last year, the office portfolio of the Iulius Company reached a total of 121,000 sqm leasable area following the opening of the second office building within Openville Timişoara, a project developed together with Atterbury Europe in the vicinity of Iulius Mall.

In the two-year period since acquiring the office building for the Cromwell Central Europe Retail Partnership (CCERP), Cromwell has generated more than 21 per cent IRR for investors. The name of the buyer and the purchase price has not been disclosed.