72 speakers and several hundred attendees will be joining the next online event organised by Property Forum and RICS, Virtual Property Forum 2020. With three speeches and eleven panel discussions, this event will provide a comprehensive overview of the trends currently driving real estate markets in the CEE region and beyond.

There were 8,400 residential property deals made in Hungary in May 2020, according to the latest monthly transaction estimate by real estate group Duna House. Although still 38% lower compared to last May, the monthly figure looks much healthier than in April.

In Q1 2020, S Immo’s rental income rose by around 10% in annual comparison to €31.1 million (Q1 2019: €28.4 million). The FFO I – a key figure for operating performance – advanced by 27.8% to €13.8 million (Q1 2019: €10.8 million). At the same time, the results on property valuation turned negative to reach minus €31.5 million in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (Q1 2019: plus €9.9 million). This corresponds to around 1.3% of the IFRS real estate assets. All in all, the company saw a loss for the period of €21.4 million as of 31 March 2020 (Q1 2019: profit for the period of €15.1m million).

As of 29 May, CPI Property Group collected 76% of rents in April 2020. The company published unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2020.

Although the majority of modern office stock is concentrated in Poland’s largest metropolitan areas, companies are increasingly looking beyond the core markets for office space Cushman & Wakefield has prepared a report on 12 alternative locations for BSS tenants.

In Q1 2020, Echo Investment commissioned four housing projects and two office buildings, sold 399 apartments and handed over 190 to clients, started the rental process in the second Resi4Rent building in Wrocław and secured the purchase of attractive plots of land on which 4,000 apartments can be built. During this time, the Group’s next profit exceeded PLN 40 million.

Immofinanz’s rental income in Q1 2020 rose by 13.4% to € 74.0 million, above all due to the expansion of the portfolio through acquisitions and completions as well as a growth of 1.9% in like-for-like rental income. The results of asset management increased by 18.1% to €59.5 million, and the results of operations were 18.0% higher at €43.5 million. However, the revaluation results of €-45.0 million from standing investments and goodwill reflect the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit for Q1 2020 was, therefore, negative at €-37.6 million.

In the current time of intense market changes, space in centrally located boutique office buildings might become a good option for companies migrating from large Warsaw facilities, according to consultancy firm Walter Herz.

In Q1 2020, the total office stock of Poland’s nine largest markets (Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocław, Tricity, the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis, Poznań, Łódź, Lublin, and Szczecin) reached close to 11.3 million sqm, up by 5% on the same period in 2019. Cushman & Wakefield summarised Q1 2020 on the Polish office market.

European real estate investment activity is set to plummet by 50% before rebounding sharply within the next 12 months, according to Savills, who predicts that neither the speed or the depth of the crash will be as bad as the global financial crisis when volumes across the continent plunged by 72% between 2007-2009.