While individual markets in CEE have developed differently, the hotel market in the region as a whole has registered an upward trend in 2016, which makes it attractive for investors, Christie & Co reveals. The hotel property adviser has recently released its latest report on the Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) hotel market which examines market trends in major capitals across the region, namely Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw. Christie & Co based some of their findings on performance data provided by STR.

The current forecast for total construction volumes in Hungary shows increases of 8% and 12% for 2017 and 2018, respectively. The barriers for the realization of the developments are the rise of construction costs and the lack of skilled labour force. CBRE expects that these issues raise risks of delivery delays and decrease of developers’ profit margins.

Paris claimed top spot in Colliers International’s Hotel Investment Attractiveness Index, an analysis of the investment climate of 20 European cities, despite predictions that investors and tourists would lose faith in the city due to political uncertainty and the perceived threat following various national security breaches. Prague was ranked in 10th place in the index, boosted by the low level of development costs and high number of tourist arrivals.

SEE Property Forum 2017, a real estate conference co-organised by Property Forum and RICS, has been held for the third time in Bucharest. 50 speakers and more than 200 visitors came together in the capital to analyse the potential of the Romanian real estate market from a global perspective.

Nearly half a million square meters of modern office space was delivered to the office market in the key Polish regional cities in 2016. The leader’s position was retained by Kraków, Lesser Poland’s capital, followed by, amongst others, Wrocław and the Tri-City. According to the report’s authors at BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, current pipeline projects will also support the high growth dynamics in 2017.

Obtaining a green certificate for modern office buildings has become a must in recent years. Still, developers, operators and tenants don’t fully realise what does a certification actually stand for and what kind of effect green solutions actually have on operating costs and productivity. The latest Green Talk, co-organised by RICS and HuGBC, focused on green buildings in Hungary. 

Resilient European economies, the continued popularity of Mediterranean leisure destinations and Europe’s importance for business travellers, should drive hotel occupancy and revenues in 2017, according to the latest PwC European Cities Hotel Forecast. Most European cities, including Budapest and Prague, are expected to see additional revenue growth in 2018.

London has been ranked as the most attractive European city for real estate investment for the sixth consecutive year, according to CBRE’s annual Investor Intentions Survey being launched at MIPIM 2017. At 6th place Warsaw is the most attractive CEE city among investors. Prague placed 8th, with Budapest (10th) and Bucharest (14th) also making in the top 15. 

Budapest was among the 50+ cities that showcased its strengths and potential to real estate professionals at MIPIM 2017 with an emphasis on new developments and investment opportunities. Two panel discussions were held during the first two days of the event, both of them moderated by Portfolio Property Forum, the media partner of the Budapest stand. Here are some takeaways from the first two days in Cannes. 

In recent years, Łódź has enhanced its position as an important destination for companies from the business services sector in Poland. Numerous global brands, such as Accenture, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Infosys, TomTom and Xerox, have established their business services units in Łódź. JLL summarised 2016 on the office market in Łódź.