The stock of modern offices in the major regional centres of Romania - Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași and Brașov - will reach the threshold of 1 million square meters in 2020, with a delay of almost one year compared to the initial estimates. Despite the fact that 2019 was a record year in terms of deliveries, with a volume of nearly 130,000 square meters, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox's Office Market Regional Cities report.

This year has been a good year for the Romanian real estate market. The latest and last report of the year from Colliers International shows that the market has evolved better than expected in many segments.

The top 40 construction companies operating in Poland posted a record aggregate revenue in 2018, breaking the previous revenue high set in 2011. Besides an improved volume of work, the revenue hike was also largely driven by rising prices of building materials and labour.

In Q3 2019, the total office stock in Prague reached 3.59 million sqm, according to Colliers International. Completions include two new and one refurbished property: Dock In Three in Prague 8 (16,000 sqm), Argentinská Office Building in Prague 7 (5,800 sqm) and the refurbished Life Building C in Prague 4 (11,100 sqm).

By 2050, 70% of the world’s total population of 9 billion people will live in cities. Today’s buildings usage account for 35% of our total energy consumption, raising the question: how can an urban district become economically sustainable? The experts of Hungarian architecture firm Paulinyi & Partners have collected the four most important trends of urban design supporting sustainability in 2020.  

Over the years, warehouse locations outside Poland’s five largest regions have attracted limited interest from institutional investors. However, along with the development of the country's road network and increasing difficulties in recruiting employees in major Polish metropolitan areas, new locations are becoming increasingly attractive for tenants and landlords. In fact, according to a report by JLL, Hillwood Poland and ManpowerGroup, these factors may well translate into higher investment volumes in emerging markets in the next few years.

Southeast Europe‘s real estate market is growing but most markets in the region have trouble attracting foreign investors. To make real estate investments in SEE more attractive, it is necessary to reduce investor risk by implementing legal, tax and public administration reforms and reducing corruption, according to the panellists at Balkans Property Forum 2019, which was organized for the third time in Belgrade by Property Forum and RICS. The conference was visited by nearly 200 real estate professionals from Serbia and other countries in the Balkans region.

Currently, less than two hundred public charging stations for nearly 4,000 registered electric and hybrid vehicles exist in the Czech Republic. Data of energy companies show that the number of public charging stations should increase to 1,300 by the end of 2020. Developers building charging stations within their new office, retail and industrial properties are also preparing for electromobility, according to Arcadis, an international company focused on consultancy in the field of construction, environment and sustainable growth.

Another excellent year for the investment market, record office lease transactions in Warsaw and the burgeoning growth of alternative asset classes - these are some of the Polish commercial property market highlights of 2019. Savills forecasts that next year the market’s performance will depend on the health of the global economy, and key developments will include the completion of spectacular office towers and mixed-use projects.

From retail survival and sustainability investment through to the impact of automation and major political and economic change, Cushman & Wakefield’s new EMEA insight report explores the major themes the commercial real estate industry needs to keep in mind next year.