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Bucharest’s office stock edged close to 3.4 million sqm at the end of 2023, following the completion of projects with a combined area of 110,000 sqm last year. However, the market will see fewer deliveries by the end of 2025 as developers have put projects on hold due to uncertainties around demand caused by the adoption of hybrid work.

Around 555,000 sqm of industrial and logistics parks are currently under construction and are planned to be completed in the Q4 2023 - Q4 2024 period across Romania, with 315,000 sqm being already pre-leased, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report.

AFI Europe Czech Republic, a developer that has been focusing on the construction of rental housing in recent years, has already achieved 50% occupancy in its two newly completed buildings: the AFI Home Karlín at the corner of Thámova and Pernerova streets and the first phase of AFI Home Kolbenova in Vysočanská street.

Office rents in Bucharest rose by up to 15.8% in the 12 months to June 2023, with the highest prices recorded in the CBD area of the city, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

The bull run in the European residential sector that was fueled by low interest rates in the past decade has been coming under strong pressure from ECB rate hikes, with valuations stagnating due to the wide gap in expectations between most buyers and sellers, according to research by property fund Catella. 

Industrial developer WDP saw a 15.2% growth of its rental income to €80.9 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period of last year, while its EPRA earnings rose 18% to €62.7 million in the same period, according to a company report. 

Česká spořitelna has started to build affordable apartments with low rents for employees that cities lack. The first such apartment buildings with 254 flats are already taking shape in Prague 9, built by a subsidiary of the bank DBČS with the developer Finep for CZK 1 billion (€42.7 million). The bank plans to build a total of 1,000 flats by 2026. The bank also wants to cooperate with the Czech government to finance more flats through EU funds and loans from the European Investment Bank, DBČS subsidiary CEO Marek Blaha told the press.

High inflation brings something that has not been seen in Czechia for a long time - a halt in the growth of residential property prices, especially flats. Prices of older flats are even falling. Frozen demand will soon hit construction companies. The housing market has slowed down considerably, and players are waiting for further economic development, says David Frič from STEM/MARK (the Euroconstruct member institute in Czechia).

Housing prices in Romania rose by 34% between 2015 and 2021, while the average growth in the EU was 38%, according to a report by real estate consultancy Colliers. 

Prices of new homes in Romania will fall this year due to lower demand as loan conditions have tightened, but more people will be looking to rent instead and this is leading to an increase in prices this year, according to an analysis by JLL Romania.