December turned out to be a good month for construction companies and producers of building materials, according to the latest monthly report by research company Spectis, “Construction market in Poland – February 2021”. However, the outlook for the construction industry in 2021 remains moderately bleak, mostly because of a high comparison base of Q1 2020. That the second half of the year could see an upturn is yet suggested by higher order books reported by the top 20 construction companies.

The latest annual report by specialist business property advisor Christie & Co reflects on the themes, activity and challenges of the previous year and forecasts what 2021 might bring across the hotel investment sector in various European countries.

In 2020, demand for office space in regional cities was 16% lower compared to 2019, the vacancy rate increased by 3.2 pp and the volume of office space under construction is at its lowest in about five years. Advisory firm JLL summarizes the situation in the Polish office market at the end of 2020.  

Though significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts, the hotel market sees activity and interest from hotel operators. In the CEE & SEE regions, they are showing interest in Prague, Budapest and Warsaw, with a number of smaller regional cities – mostly Polish – also making the top 30. Operators are confident about market recovery, predicting that smaller cities will bounce back in 2022, followed by capitals in 2024.

The latest STR figures show that the Prague hotel market has borne the brunt of the coronavirus crisis in Europe. It recorded the steepest decline in average revenue per room in 2020, down 84.6% on the previous year on the back of an average 16.6% annual room occupancy rate. Even so, confidence in the Prague hotel market and its long-term potential is hardly waning, as underscored by the unflagging interest not only among investors, who are always on the lookout for good opportunities to buy but also among hotel operators, who have identified Prague as the main target of their activities. Results reported for last summer, when rules were eased for a while, signalled that the market would be able to recover relatively quickly once the restrictions are lifted. Complete recovery, however, is not expected until 2024.

Gross take-up on the Prague office market in Q4 2020 amounted to 98,700 sqm, representing a 17.6% increase on the previous quarter but a 33% decrease in a year-on-year comparison. The Prague Research Forum announced the office market figures for Q4 2020.

Total demand on the Budapest office market reached 86,310 sqm in Q4 2020, representing a 57% decrease year-on-year. The vacancy rate has increased to 9.1%, representing an increase of 1.0 p.p. quarter-on-quarter, according to BRF’s latest figures.

Total leasing activity throughout 2020 on the Budapest industrial/logistics market amounted to 537,900 sqm, marking a 29% increase from the previous year and the second-highest annual volume on record. The Budapest Research Forum published its quarterly industrial/logistics market analysis.

Globally, there is set to be a 50% surge in investment into commercial real estate in the second half of the year, predicts Colliers International in its new Global Capital Markets 2021 Investor Outlook paper. In EMEA, the momentum continues in the industrial and logistics and living sectors which are less dependent on economic growth. Investors are also particularly interested in core office stock, albeit selectively, with some 32 per cent of respondents looking to invest in the sector.

European logistics real estate markets have not suffered last year from the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to fast-growing e-commerce and higher inventory levels of producers, the total expected take-up in 11 European countries of 23.6 million sqm for 2020 is only 3% down compared with the record year 2019. The forecasts for this year are even better with an expected take-up of 27 million sqm – an increase of 14%. Particularly large logistics real estate markets like Germany, France, the Netherlands and Poland are expected to grow substantially.