New furniture. Everything is neatly organized. Everything is in its place. And it is extremely tidy. New offices tend to look as if they are images in a catalogue or a photorealistic visualisation delivered by an architect – but this only lasts for a short while. It takes no more than a few weeks for slow, yet inevitable changes to begin creeping into a new office. As the lease term passes, the office acquires a life of its own: it is an organism straining to adapt to the dynamic movements of people, things and activities that fill it and shape the space.

Positive sentiment amongst tenants, developers and investors are reflected in the spectacular demand for office space and reduced vacancy rates in Warsaw. The growing presence of co-working companies is another sign of an expanding market. JLL summarised the situation on the Warsaw office market at the end of Q3 2018.

Rents remained stable on the Budapest commercial property market in H1 2018, according to the last survey of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) and RICS. The typical yield level decreased by roughly 25 basis points to 6% for prime offices and 7.5% for industrial/logistics properties. Respondents anticipate an increase in demand for investments in most market segments for H2 2018, particularly in the case of prime office and industrial/logistics properties.

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) hospitality market is showing a positive evolution, with all the performance indicators higher than in the previous year. Between 2013 and 2017, Bucharest stands out with an average increase of overnight stays of 10.1% per year, the highest in the region, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report.

The National Bank of Romania (NBR) reintroduced limits for the maximum indebtedness levels for individuals or families seeking out consumer or mortgage loans. These debt service-to-income (DSTI) ratios will become 40% for RON loans and 20% for hard currency starting in 2019. As per Colliers International Romania’s estimates, for the residential market, the impact in terms of prices will be uneven, geared more towards the low and medium-low segments of the residential market.

In the first three quarters of 2018, the total investment volume on the Warsaw office market hit €1.14 billion, which represented a threefold increase on the same period in 2017. Cushman & Wakefield presented a summary of Q3 2018 on the Warsaw office market.

The vacancy rate slightly increased on the Budapest industrial market to 3.7%. At the end of the Q3 2018 a total of 76,240 sqm stood vacant, and there are only two existing schemes with more than 5,000 sqm of available warehouse space. The Budapest Research Forum published its quarterly industrial market analysis

At the beginning of October, the total value of real estate investment transactions completed in Poland year-to-date exceeded €5 billion which is comparable to 2017's total. JLL analysed this year’s investment transactions conducted in the commercial real estate sector in Poland.

Transactions in the logistics sector have been dominating the Prague market this year. In the first half of 2018 alone, the take-up was 24% higher than in the full year 2017, precisely 226,600 sqm. During the same period, the overall gross take-up reached in Prague 408,000 sqm, showing an increase of 56 %. Besides the logistics sector, more than 90,000 sqm was taken by production and 76,000 sqm by distribution. The biggest new deal in Prague in the logistics sector was done by cargo-partner ČR, which signed a lease agreement for 12,450 sqm located in a stand-alone industrial building in the Logicor Prague Airport logistic park. The company will start operating from the new premises at the beginning of 2019. Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the lease of the premises.

Despite over 110,000 sqm of new supply coming to the market in Q3 2018, the office vacancy rate decreased to 6.4%, the lowest rate ever recorded in. The Budapest Research Forum published its latest figures.