Investment volume on the Romanian market in the first half of 2018 amounted to approximately €386 million, down 27% from the same period of the previous year, when the investment market reached a value of €530 million, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox calculations and estimates. This decline comes amid a substantial number of transactions that had not been fully completed by June 30, while their eventual closure in the second half of the year will push the market to a level of transactions comparable to that achieved in 2017, of almost €1 billion.

JLL and LaSalle Investment Management published the latest edition of the Global Real Estate Transparency Index - GRETI. The world's most transparent markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, France, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Finland.

With the growth of the Bucharest office market to 2.3 million sqm, office buildings become more and more important in the recruitment and retention of employees. The new wave of employees is more demanding in terms of office life concepts and expects a building to offer, besides a modern working space, a community to belong to. According Colliers International Romania, in the coming years, property management services will influence the level of employee satisfaction.

In H1 2018, gross take-up on the office markets of Brno and Ostrava reached 45,600 sqm and 18,900 sqm, respectively, representing a significant yearly increase in both cities.The Regional Research Forum announced the Brno and Ostrava office market figures for H1 2018.

Investment flows into the CEE-6 region rose 4% y-o-y in H1 2018, marginally exceeding the pace of 2017’s record year, according to Colliers International’s latest report.

Cushman & Wakefield has published a summary of the first half of 2018 on the Warsaw office market in its latest MarketBeat report. Effects of the existing supply gap are likely to carry into 2020 when large-scale office projects providing a cumulative annual supply of 430,000 sqm will be delivered. As a result, tenants are increasingly opting for pre-lets to secure prime office locations.

Retail deliveries in Romania will return to a positive trend in the second half of 2018, when at least 90,000 square meters will be delivered in four cities, with no openings scheduled for Bucharest, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Properties worth up to €3.88 billion have switched owners since January in Poland. JLL analysed the investment transactions concluded in the commercial real estate sector in Poland.

The total investment volume in Slovakia for H1 2018 reached just under €500 million, a significant amount compared to the €535 million for the entire 2017 and record-breaking €850 million in 2016. This is the result of several mid-volume level deals slipping from 2017 Q4 to 2018 Q1/Q2, as well as increased liquidity and investment activity on the Slovak market, according to JLL.

The end of the first semester has brought to light great achievements from regional cities in all real estate segments on the Romanian market. Bucharest has also performed well and, according to the real estate consultancy company Colliers International Romania, the prospects for the remainder of the year remain strong.