Budapest’s office market statistics for Q1 2021 continued to reflect the uncertainties and economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. While quarterly demand remained somewhat weaker than in previous years, the gap narrowed as the number of transactions showed recovery, according to the Budapest Research Forum (BRF).

The volume of Hungary’s construction output in February decreased by 11.7% compared to the January data, based on seasonally and working-day adjusted indices construction output. Aside from the unpleasant surprise of lower output, the volume of orders was also not very rosy. Nevertheless, it would be too early to give up on this year's outlook.

The latest online panel discussion by Property Forum focused on real estate financing strategies in the second pandemic year. Influential bankers, CFOs and advisors discussed, with the moderation of Csanád Csürös, CEO of Property Forum, how the perception of real estate as an asset class has changed and how the pandemic impacted financing conditions.

Between 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, house prices and rents in the EU followed similar paths. Since the second quarter of 2011, they have followed very different paths: while rents increased steadily throughout the period up to the fourth quarter of 2020, house prices have fluctuated significantly, Eurostat data reveals.  

Publicly traded Hungarian real estate brokerage firm Duna House has released its metrics for the first quarter. Duna House started the year with record quarterly volumes in all of its core business lines in the middle of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a series of record highs in 2020, the first quarter, which is usually weak seasonally, brought all-time records in both real estate and credit brokerage in 2021: franchise real estate brokerage grew by 36%, own office real estate brokerage by 37% and credit brokerage by 6% year-on-year.

S Immo generated a profit of €56.9 million for the financial year 2020, closing the year well in the black despite the COVID-19 crisis.

CPI Property Group updated its stakeholders regarding a defamation claim filed in June 2020 by Kingstown Capital Management L.P. and Investhold LTD against CPIPG and Radovan Vitek in New York State court.

Albania remains a dynamic real estate market, growing in both the retail and office sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic had a definite impact in the first quarter of 2020, but with the ease of the quarantine restrictions, the real estate market picked up and recorded higher than usual transaction volumes, particularly in the residential sector. Colliers Albania published its top 5 predictions for the Albanian property market in 2021.

The total stock of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Prague exceeds 28,400 beds. 91% of these capacities are in the ownership of universities and the remaining 9% is provided by the private sector, according to the latest Savills “Student Housing in Prague” report.

COVID-19 has fundamentally challenged and modified the way the global workforce interacts, socializes, and collaborates. Flexible working practices, including working from home, have been heavily adopted as the recent pandemic has forced a trial run of remote working for industries, businesses, and individuals across the entire world. As a result, sentiments towards office space, its value, role, and contribution to the operation of daily work tasks are now being reconsidered both by employees and employers. While the pandemic has boosted the shift towards integrating flexible workspaces into corporate real estate portfolios, the fear that the office will lose its relevance is not realistic. Rather than becoming obsolete, it will become an increasingly valuable asset in facilitating collaboration and driving business growth, writes Gavin Bonner, Vice President of Romanian office developer Genesis Property in an opinion piece for Property Forum.