The advance of diversity and solidification of the retail market is creating attractive conditions for the expansion of global brands, according to the experts of JLL Poland. One such example is the decision made by Urban Outfitters to enter the Polish market.

Two large transactions in excess of €200 million that closed in Q1 and pipeline transactions of at least €1.5 billion point to the overall investment volume for 2019 exceeding the figures achieved in 2018 in 2019, according to the latest research from Colliers International.  

The Romanian industrial and logistics market has grown remarkably, in as far as the intensity of both developments and national freight transport is concerned. According to Colliers International, the most active logistics hubs besides Bucharest are Constanta – the easternmost urban centre, Alba – located almost centrally and Timis – the most western county in Romania, as these four markets together account for almost a quarter of the national goods transported in Romania via roads.

Krakow’s office stock has increased by more than 15% over the year to more than 1.3 million sqm at the end of Q1 2019. According to “Occupier Economics: Office Market in Krakow Q1 2019”, a report published by m Cresa, the capital city of Lesser Poland continues to attract tenants and this trend is likely to carry on into the near future given the economic and cultural potential.

Panellists of the CEE investment roundtable of Prague Property Forum 2019, led by Mike Atwell, Head of Capital Markets Czech Republic and Lead Director CEE at JLL discussed the key trends shaping the regional investment market. They agreed that the low interest rate environment is probably here to say but it's very difficult to say for how long.

Urban space in the twentieth century belonged to cars. In the 21st century, it has been reclaimed by people – this is how current urban trends can be summarised. Inward development, the narrowing of streets to expand space for pedestrians, the building of a dense network of cycle lanes and strengthening the role of public transport are some of the measures taken in modern cities to improve the lives of residents. Colliers International, in cooperation with ULI, published an expert article on current urban trends

Investment fund Focus Estate Fund has set the goal to expand the geography of its presence in Central and Eastern Europe. In the next two years, the Fund plans to more than double its portfolio by strengthening its position in the niche of medium-sized commercial real estate in Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as by entering the Slovak market.

At the end of Q1 2019, the total modern Class A industrial stock in the Czech Republic stood at 7.97 million sqm. In the first three months of 2019, the Prague industrial market has exceeded the magical milestone of 3 million sqm, confirming its position as the largest industrial market in the country, followed by the Pilsen and South Moravian markets, according to JLL:

Romania is the fifth most attractive manufacturing market in Europe and was ranked 12th globally, according to the Manufacturing Risk Index 2019 study, conducted by the Cushman & Wakefield.

According to the RICS Commercial Property Monitor, Hungary has the strongest occupier sentiment and the Czech Republic has the strongest investment sentiment among the 40 countries surveyed in Q1 2019. Market expectations remained fairly positive across Central and Eastern Europe in the first quarter of the year, with the share of those stating that we have reached the peak of current property cycle decreasing compared to previous quarters.