In 2021, the excess demand in the Austrian apartment building market will continue to lead to solid increases in the values of residential and commercial buildings. However, according to Arnold Investments, prices in very good and good locations have currently stabilised at a high level. Entry-level prices for local properties within the “Gürtel” (beltway) are currently starting at €4,000 to €5,000 per square metre.

Leach & McGuire have signed an agreement to start work on two buildings that Heimstaden purchased in Warsaw earlier in 2021 from Marvipol, specifically ‘Unique Tower’ on ul. Grzybowska comprising 136 apartments and ‘Moko’ (Botanika) on ul. Bokserska featuring 477 residential units.

Echo Investment summarizes the first half of 2021, taking into account the results of the Archicom S.A. group for the first time. The first six months of 2021 brought the Group over PLN 47 million in net profit, which was mainly the result of handing over to customers 398 apartments built by Echo Investment, as well as 202 apartments of Archicom and an increase in the value of office buildings – in particular Malthouse Offices in Warsaw Breweries and Brain Park I in Cracow. Important item that influenced the results for the first half of the year and the second quarter was the profit on purchase price allocation of Archicom S.A. shares.

The property markets of individual countries are affected by a number of external factors, so it is not evident that they are doing equally well in a small region like CEE. What are the strong and weak points of Hungary's property market compared to other countries in the region? How successfully has it weathered the COVID crisis? What will be the best development and investment opportunities in the coming period? These were the questions discussed by the international investors’ panel at the 2021 edition of Property Investment Forum in Budapest.

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.

The construction of the Resi4Rent project in Poznań has been completed. Less than two weeks after obtaining a use permit, 30 rental contracts have already been signed.

AFI Europe has completed the shell of the fifth and final phase of the Tulipa Třebešín residential project which is intended purely for rental housing and completes a large-scale development on a 5-hectare urban brownfield site in Prague 3 - Strašnice. The building will offer a total of 61 residential units with an expected completion date of Q3 2022. The general contractor is Imos Brno. AFI Europe's total investment in Phase 5 will exceed CZK 250 million.

Jason Drennan, Investment Director at Heimstaden talked to Property Forum about the rapidly developing PRS market in Poland, surging residential prices and plans for the upcoming months.

A consortium of banks, with Pekao Bank as a leader, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and BNP Paribas Bank, granted over PLN 248 million in a construction and investment loan and PLN 15 million in a VAT loan for five Resi4Rent projects with apartments for rent.

Hungary-based Alfa Group plans to raise approximately HUF 10 billion in its first Green Bond issue scheduled for October 2021. Ohad Epschtein, Managing Partner of Alfa Group International talked to Property Forum about the importance of sustainability and he also shared some details about the company’s expansion strategy.