The Q1 2021 results of the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor indicate a slightly less negative market sentiment across Europe compared to the previous quarter. Rental growth expectations remain negative within the office and retail sectors across all European nations covered, while the outlook for industrial markets has never been more positive.

The volume of new real estate investments in Romania amounted to €98 million in the first quarter of 2021, driven by the office and industrial segments. The investments were down 19% compared to the same period of 2020, according to a report by CBRE. 

According to the latest Savills research, at figures ranging between €4.60-5.30 per sqm per month, out of 54 markets analysed, Prague and the Polish cities of Katowice, Wrocław, TriCity and Poznań are among the ten cheapest locations for renting a modern warehouse globally. In Europe, Poznań (€4.68/sqm/month) is the most cost-effective location with only certain cities in India and Vietnam having lower overall warehousing property costs.

The industrial and logistics sector continues with strong momentum while large scale office transactions have slowed in European investment volumes, as many countries saw overall activity halve in comparison to Q1 2020, notes Colliers. In Poland, liquidity is returning to the office market, which can be confirmed by the number of transactions.

Asking prices for apartments and houses in Romania gained 3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020, but the yearly growth rate cooled down due to the reduction of demand and the increase of stock available for sale, according to a report by Imobiliare.ro. 

Revenues of Impact Developer & Contractor totalled €42.3 million in 2020, up 28% year-on-year, driven by higher residential sales for its Bucharest-based projects. 

Indoor air and water quality is not something many people give too much attention to when it comes to the office buildings where they work and spend most of their time during the day. At home, they invest in products like air purifiers and water filtration systems; at work, they rely on their employer or building owner and, most of the time, they take what they get without sometimes even considering if it may or may not affect their health, writes Dr. Darren Allen, Director of the Healthy by Design Building Institute, in an opinion piece for Property Forum

The Czech market is still slow in comparison to previous years. Market fundamentals remain good, as does the demand for core and core+ assets, but the market is experiencing limited supply of the right investment product, according to the latest capital markets report by Colliers.

Total demand on Budapest’s industrial market amounted to 81,820 sqm in Q1 2021, indicating some 3% increase on the volume measured in the corresponding period of the previous year. Pre-leases dominated the demand with a share of 45%, according to the BRF’s quarterly report.

Property Forum’s latest online panel aimed to answer some of the many questions around the future of workplaces. Four experts, with the moderation of Csanád Csűrös, CEO of Property Forum, discussed workplace strategies for the post-COVID-19 world and their implications on the real estate industry.