Bucharest-listed Impact Developer & Contractor closed the year 2020 with revenues from the sale of real estate properties worth €42.7 million, up 29,4% compared to 2019, representing the best result of the developer in the last decade. In a pandemic year, the company sold a total of 369 units (31,191 sqm built area), out of which 205 were contracted in Greenfield Residence Băneasa and 164 in Luxuria Residence compound.  

Disruptions from the pandemic are poised to continue, according to the Prologis Logistics Rent Index. Lockdowns and other COVID-19-related situations may constrain customers’ operations, though the volatility is expected to be less severe than in 2020 as many customers now have better supply chain visibility.

There is currently a shortage of industrial and logistics space on the Czech market, in addition to a lack of land suitable for their construction. This is mainly due to growing demand and the fact that local governments aren’t motivated by tax benefits to allow their construction. The situation is most evident in the vicinity of large cities, and also affects the growth of rent levels. Moreover, it has also caused a new trend in the form of the extension of rent contracts. The first new projects of over 20,000 sqm can only be expected in the second half of 2022. 

Online shopping is continuing to grow in the European Union. With high street shopping affected by the COVID-19 restrictions and changes in habits and preferences, e-commerce can be expected to grow further. Data realised by Eurostat reveals that over the last five years, the largest increases in online shopping among internet users were recorded in CEE countries.

The impact of COVID-19 on the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector has been less severe than expected, proving the resilience of the asset class, as shown in Bonard’s annual report.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. These declines follow a strong rebound in the third quarter of 2020 (+12.4% in the euro area and +11.5% in the EU) and the sharpest decreases since the time series started in 1995 observed in the second quarter of 2020 (-11.7% in the euro area and -11.4% in the EU). According to the first estimation of annual growth for 2020, based on seasonally and calendar adjusted quarterly data, GDP fell by 6.8% in the euro area and 6.4% in the EU.

Bucharest – the skyline transformation by 2025, an exclusive investment/destination marketing oriented real estate digital tour, for optimism and perspective after a traumatic year (2020), is out now, published by Romania's Real Estate Yearbook 2020.

Budapest’s office market hasn’t collapsed but it has undergone a significant transformation over the past 12 months, and now the new normal has to be redefined, Valter Kalaus, Managing Director of consulting firm VLK Cresa explains.

After the great year in 2019 and a very good start to 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has halted the expansion of Asian investment funds in Poland. However, analysts are convinced that it is just a temporary situation and a new transaction closed this month also suggests that the flow of Asian capital has not dried up.

Due to the pandemic, the construction industry in Hungary last year registered a significant fall and the last quarter couldn’t save the year either. The latest EBI Construction Activity Report has found that Q4 2020, similarly to the low-value Q4 2019, saw the start of construction works at a value of HUF 442 billion. Owing to the massive drop in mid-2020, 15% less construction work started than in 2019 and 30% less than in 2018. In 2020 the Activity Start Indicator of the EBI Construction Activity Report accounted for less than HUF 2000 billion and the decline affected all major subsectors.