According to Savills latest research, total property investment activity in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania for Q1-Q3 2020 was €7.6 billion, the third-highest volume on record, despite the global COVID-19 pandemic. Total investment volumes by year-end are forecast to surpass €10 billion, which would be in line with the five-year average.

While the first results show that the GDP grew by 5.2% q-o-q in Q3 in the Czech Republic, the second wave of COVID-19 has forced the government to re-impose strict containment measures to curb the spread of the virus. Retail sales grew during the summer as they reached pre-pandemic levels. However, consumer confidence fell for a second consecutive month in September, while a worsening labour market outlook and a resurgence of new infections will mean households keep more precautionary savings as well as denting income. On the other hand, industrial production resumed growth in September and is likely to underpin economic growth as it is less exposed to the pandemic. Cushman & Wakefield summarised the situation in each market segment.

According to a report published by Cresa Poland, the vacancy rate on Poznań’s office market stood at 13.3% at the end of Q3 2020, down by 1.2 pp on the second quarter. It is the only office market in Poland to have recorded a quarterly fall in vacancies.

Iceland, Sweden and Norway show top potential for hyperscale and cloud-scale data centre investment, followed closely by Denmark and the Netherlands according to research from Savills. The CEE region is also becoming more important in strategic plans for key players, with Poland having the potential of being in its heart.

Arcadis, an international consultancy company focused on building industry, environment and sustainable growth, summarised the current development on the Czech industrial property market in the context of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

Total modern warehouse stock in Poland exceeded 20 million sqm in Q3, with a further 1.5 million sqm currently underway despite the pandemic. Occupier activity was at the second-highest level on record in Q3 2020, reaching 1.22 million sqm (+49% y/y). Overall, 3.5 million sqm has been leased since the start of the year. Investor sentiment also remains robust, as testified by a record volume of transactions signed so far in 2020. Axi Immo presented its report on the Polish warehouse market in Q3 2020.

The Romanian logistics market will have a record demand by the end of 2020, with a transactional volume exceeding the 700,000 square meters threshold, amid the accelerated development of e-commerce and the positioning of Bucharest as a regional logistics hub for a series of international retailers, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Seven experts discussed investment and financing strategies for the new normal at the online edition of Prague Property Forum 2020. How has the investment market changed in the last 6-8 months? What major changes have been observed in investment and financing preferences? We summarised the highlights of the discussion, moderated by Luke Dawson (Colliers International).

Hungary’s rental property market had an uneven month as prices were on average 5% lower than a year earlier according to the joint Rent Index of the Central Statistical Office (KSH) and real estate portal ingatlan.com. Rents were down 0.7% compared to August in Budapest in September, the last month of the season, while prices in other regions in Hungary remained level.

The office market in Bucharest continues to grow, with 124,000 of modern office space delivered in the first nine months of the year ​​388,000 sqm more in the pipeline, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. The commercial stock of office buildings in Bucharest reaches about 2.9 million square meters with an additional 150,000 sqm of owner-occupied stock.