Although the coronavirus pandemic has the world (and the property sector) facing an unprecedented challenge, one positive consequence seems to be certain – it is going to accelerate the adaptation of technology. Property Forum asked three people in proptech to share their thoughts on how COVID-19 is going to impact the way we work and connect to each other.

The Bucharest economy stands as one of the most insulated service centres in Europe to the negative fallout related to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is largely due to Bucharest’s heavy reliance on IT&C activities as well as scientific and professional services, on par with European capitals like Dublin, Paris and London.  That said, Romania’s high integration in global value chains means that it will face significant headwinds given negative developments in the global economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause multiple disruptions to the world’s industries and economies and this is also true for many CEE currencies. Those countries that have not adopted the Euro, or are not pegged to it, have each seen a ca. 10% depreciation in currency value during the period February to March 2020. The Romanian Leu is the exception which has depreciated just 1%, largely due to central bank intervention, Colliers reports in its CEE Special Insights Series.

The COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve rapidly and several governments in the markets in which Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) operates have taken measures to contain the spread of the virus. These measures will impact the Group’s operations, according to URW’s statement.

In our interconnected world, significant disruptions underscore the need for resilient supply chains. The risks posed by COVID-19 to economic growth would likewise affect real estate in the near term; on both counts, the magnitude is yet unknown. Still, structural trends point to resiliency for logistics real estate through this period and beyond, shaping both the fundamental and investment landscape, according to a new report by Prologis Research.

Although development activity was muted in Katowice throughout 2019, there is now more than 210,000 sqm of office space under construction across 13 projects. Cushman & Wakefield summarised the past year on Katowice’s office market.

Property Forum provides a comprehensive summary of the most important coronavirus-related measures that have been introduced in CEE countries. All of them have implemented a number of restrictive measures to slow down the spread of the virus and several governments have announced plans to help companies hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis and to stimulate the economy.

CBRE expects the COVID-19 outbreak to have a negative short-term impact on certain sectors of the commercial real estate market. However, the further transmission and evolution of the virus remains difficult to predict.

The pandemic declared last week by the WHO has undoubtedly a crippling effect on businesses and poses major challenges and unexpected obstacles to supply chain management. Nevertheless, as always in such crisis situations, there are also companies that come out unscathed of them, even in a better condition and with innovative solutions. Will the coronavirus be a black swan for the Polish market and will it further accelerate the fast-growing e-commerce sector? An analysis by Damian Kołata, Associate, Industrial & Logistics Agency at Cushman & Wakefield.

According to Colliers International’ COVID-19 Insights, it will take until at least Q2 2020 for the investment market to come to terms with what is a very sharp economic global shock and a potentially deeper economic shock for Europe.