2017 was a record breaking year for the Bulgarian office market with almost 200,000 sqm take-up in Sofia. The investment volume has also been the strongest ever with €1 billion invested in commercial property (land acquisitions included) from which income generating assets hold €870 million. Cushman & Wakefield Forton summarised 2017 on the Bulgarian office, retail and industrial markets.

At ca. €12.98 billion, 2017 recorded a 3.3% increase over 2016 (€12.56 billion) and, for the second year running, set a new record transaction volume for the CEE region. JLL has registered continued appetite from investors for the full range of assets across the entire region.

The total investment volume in Slovakia for 2017 was recorded at just under €525 million, with more than two thirds being closed in the second half of the year. The volume is below JLL‘s €600 million estimation as several deals did not close before the year end and will slip into 2018.

Demand for flexible workspace across the world saw record growth in 2017, according to the latest research from Cushman & Wakefield. The firm’s Co-working 2018 report reveals the extent to which the sector has evolved and matured with the UK leading the way globally.

2017 was a year of dynamic growth on Romania’s real estate market and the stage is set for 2018 to bring just as strong results. Silviu Pop, Head of Research at Colliers International Romania put together 10 predictions for the Romanian market in 2018.

Total take-up on the Bratislava office market reached 84,000 sqm in Q4 2017, having tripled compared to the previous quarter. The vacancy rate continued to decline and reached 6.18%. The Bratislava Research Forum published its office market statistics for Q4 2017.

In 2017, investments in the Czech Republic totalled €3,274 million as indicated by a Cushman & Wakefield report. Contrary to expectations, they declined only slightly compared with 2016, which was a record year. The biggest transactions in 2017 included the sale of Olympia Brno, the CBRE GI portfolio (Nisa Liberec, Zlatý Anděl and Olympia Plzeň), Metropole Zličín and of the Letňany shopping centre.

Property investment volume for Romania is estimated at almost €1 billion last year, a value ca.10% higher than the one registered in 2016 (€890 million). Romania accounted for 8% of the total investment volume recorded in the CEE region (€12.98 billion, a 3.3% increase over 2016). The growth of the Romanian market exceeds the increase of the CEE volumes, but the local market is still under its potential, according to JLL.

Romanian industrial and logistics gross take-up increased in 2017 by almost 15% to over 525,000 square meters, registering a new record level, JLL reports.

Class A office buildings in the downtown areas of Gdańsk and Gdynia will finally become available for lease, complementing office provision on the outskirts of the Tricity agglomeration. Tenants are likely to move to new headquarters in more prestigious locations, says Michał Rafałowicz, Head for the Pomeranian Region at advisory firm Cresa Poland.