The total investment volume achieved in 2020 in the SEE region amounted to €766 million representing a 17% decline in transaction volume in comparison to the year before, according to CBRE’s market report summarising H2 2020 on the investment market.

In 2020 the coronavirus pandemic pushed Poland into its first recession in 30 years following a GDP contraction of around 2.8%. According to Moody’s forecasts, implications of the second wave of the pandemic will reverberate through the economy also during the first quarter of 2021. The second quarter is, however, likely to see a recovery and this year’s GDP growth is expected to reach approximately 4%. Cushman & Wakefield summarised 2020 on the Warsaw office market.

Although the Czech Republic spent Q4 in a state of emergency, with borders being more closed more often than open towards the year’s end, the Czech real estate investment market finished on less than record-breaking results but, considering the challenging year, it was far from being bad, according to Colliers International’s latest investment market report.

CTP has announced a 15% annual growth which helped the company reach €344 million of annualised rental income by the end of 2020. With a portfolio of 6.3 million sqm and 740,000 sqm under construction at year-end 2020, CTP solidified its position as the largest logistics property owner and developer based on GLA in the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia while announcing new developments in Austria, Poland and Bulgaria.

The office space market in Bucharest registered a total volume of transactions of approximately 240,000 sqm in 2020, a level similar to that of 2015, CBRE data shows.

Realpad is a European provider of software that helps more than 60 residential developers provide better customer service. Recently, in cooperation with Slovak developer Corwin, Realpad completed a pilot project for the digitisation of the entire apartment handover process. The solution has been quickly adopted by more customers in other European markets.

The longer-term trend of price increases on the residential market continues to be the most likely scenario as demand continues to outpace supply in many of the larger cities of Romania, according to a report by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association.

Total commercial real estate investment into the Slovak market amounted to €502 million in 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 27%, according to Cushman  & Wakefield’s market reports for Q4 2020.

The MBARE programme (MBA – Real Estate Investment, Development and Valuation) taught at the Prague University of Economics and Business, after only three years of operation, has been accredited by the international organization RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) for the field of commercial real estate and real estate valuation. It is the only accredited MBA programme of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.

Property investment volumes for the CEE region totalled €10.4 billion in 2020, 24% below 2019 levels. Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary all saw year-over-year declines in volumes. Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria all saw increases. By comparison, EMEA  volumes are estimated to be down by ca. 27% YoY but Colliers’ latest reports indicates a strong rebound in 2021. Investor appetite remains strong for 2021 for the CEE region but will continue to be challenged by available product and the varying impact of COVID on certain sectors.