German funds have always been one of the main players on the investment market in Poland and the CEE region. However, in recent years their share in transaction volume has been decreasing. Currently, they stand at around 15% of the total value invested annually. New entrants from the USA, Asia and South Africa have increased competition for commercial property in the region. Poland and the Czech Republic are still the CEE markets of choice for German investors seeking to locate their capital in commercial real estate.

For the first time in five years, Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay has replaced New York’s Upper 5th Avenue as the world’s most expensive retail street by rental value, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. The Czech Republic has made it into the top 20 world’s most expensive retail streets. With rents of €230 per sqm per month, Prague’s Na Příkopě Street is at No. 19, leaping three positions up from the last year

Between Q1 and Q3 2018, demand for office space in Poland reached nearly 1.1 million sqm, signalling a continued strong market momentum. JLL summarised the situation on the Polish office market at the end of Q3 2018.

According to CBRE, the global property investment volume increased 3.6% year-to-date (YTD), compared to the same period of last year, with Q3 up by 1.2% (in fixed exchange rates). Taking account of last year’s strong appreciation of the U.S. dollar, global investment volume grew by a greater 5.9% YTD.

Romania's industrial and logistics market is currently benefitting from its best period in history, both in terms of supply and demand, with development being condensed in a number of large cities with access to at least one highway that facilitates the transport and distribution of goods in a shorter time and with lower costs to a larger number of customers.

High retail space saturation will attract new tenants to Poland. It is a hallmark of a mature and stable market where retailers are able to make store turnover and expansion plans a lot more easily, says Szymon Łukasik, Head of Retail at Cresa Poland.

Prague is becoming increasingly more expensive than Bratislava. Employees continue to earn more in the capital of the Czech Republic, though the cost of living is also rising, especially in regards to housing. This is evidenced by the results of research done by JLL, which compared the prices of apartments in both capitals.

In Q3 2018, Poland’s eight largest regional cities (Krakow, Wrocław, Tricity, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź, Szczecin and Lublin) saw more than 176,000 sqm of office space delivered across 21 new projects, taking the total space available on those markets to 4.81 million sqm. Cushman & Wakefield presented a summary of Polish regional office markets.

In the third paper of a three-part series looking at the future of logistics real estate, Prologis examined the implications for logistics property in light of emerging trends for transport, labour productivity and consumer behaviour. Prologis predicts these trends will create big efficiencies in supply chains and bring associated cost savings for users of logistics facilities – a proportion of which will go towards paying higher rents, especially for facilities located in urban infill areas, as this will lead to much higher efficiency gains.

The areas in northern Bucharest, such as Stefanestii de Jos and Chitila, have the potential to form a new logistics hub, according to Colliers International. Over 180,000 sqm of logistics space is to be delivered next year, as the West of the capital has become loaded in terms of the development of industrial and logistic spaces.