Even though we are currently in the late phase of the real estate cycle, no significant drop is expected in the coming period. Jos Tromp MRICS, CBRE’s Head of EMEA Research shared his projections for the European property investment market at Portfolio Property Investment Forum in Budapest. These were his key statements and predictions.

Political risk seems not to be affecting the performance of CEE markets. Members of the investment panel at the Portfolio-RICS Valuation & Investment 2018 conference in Budapest are confident about the future of the market and view industrial/logistics and retail as the most attractive asset classes.

Tenant requirements have changed significantly which means that offices need to be maintained at the highest quality in order to retain the workforce. Panellists discussed the future of the office market at the Portfolio FM & Office 2018 conference that was held in Budapest last week.

M7 Real Estate, a pan-European real estate investor and asset manager, announces has completed the acquisition of 12 assets in Hungary through four transactions for a total of €80.1 million in 2017. It brings M7's Assets Under Management in Hungary to € 89.3 million. It has also completed 32 new lettings and lease renewals across its Hungarian portfolio.

There is an ongoing mentality shift in the property industry which not just about technology, proptech guru James Dearsley revealed at the largest event on the Hungarian property market. Over 700 participants and nearly 100 speakers gathered at the 13th Portfolio Property Investment Forum in Budapest which focused on the future of real estate.

Sevdelina Petrova MRICS (Bulgaria) and Maja Ostanek MRICS (Slovenia) were awarded the Chris H. Bennett Memorial Prize. The awards were handed out at the Portfolio Property Investment Forum conference in Budapest, where the achievements of several big players of the Hungarian property market were also acknowledged.

HBK, asset manager of Direkt Invest Polen fund, finalised the sales transaction of a retail portfolio, comprising seven existing properties as well as development lands for new projects. Master Management Group became new owner of the portfolio. The total value of the transaction is approximately €60 million.

The Budapest office market is booming and as the needs of tenants are changing, developers need to pay attention not only to sustainability but to employee well-being as well. Panelists at Portfolio’s FM & Office 2017 conference in Budapest talked about the future of the office market in the capital.

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.