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.

In the second half of 2016 Class A offices in Bulgaria took 70% in the total supply, shows the latest research of Colliers International. The interest is generated mainly from companies coming from the outsourcing and IT sector, which has a growing share in the office market transactions – 60% during the first half of 2016 and 74% during the second. Their requirements include modern and functional layouts, comfortable workspace, convenient location, easily accessible through public transport, availability of restaurants, sports centers and additional services in close proximity. As a result to the active demand for this type of offices, the annual net absorption in quality Class A and B buildings in Sofia increased by 26%.

Whilst 2017’s volumes from South Africa are not likely to match 2016’s records, the numbers from Asia could well match or exceed last year’s, given the large number of potential sources that capital can hail from in that vast, deep and liquid arena. Asian investors see CEE as a risky higher return diversification opportunity compared to Western Europe according to the report released at MIPIM from Colliers International.

After 2015's record-breaking performance, when demand totalled 64,900 sqm, 2016 closed with a very good result – office lease agreements for 64,100 sqm were signed in Poznań. An interesting trend in 2016 was the increased share of pre-let agreements in overall demand - much higher than in previous years. Also, more companies have decided to expand their office space, illustrating how buoyant the market is. JLL summarised 2016 on Poznań's office market.

Buildings account for over 40% of energy consumption in Europe, of which   around 75% are not energy efficient. This illustrates the importance of obtaining sustainable development certificates for both newly-developed and existing buildings. Their energy efficiency is assessed based on modeling and energy simulations. However, so far, there has not been any analysis regarding the actual energy consumption of a building: what is the impact of the implementation of innovative systems, appropriate management, specifications and the expected level of the users’ comfort on the building energy performance? These issues have been thoroughly addressed in the first study in Europe, conducted by Skanska, Go4Energy and Cushman & Wakefield, which analyses office buildings in Poland.

The investment volume achieved in 2016 totalled almost €1.2 billion with 46 transactions recorded in core CEE hotel investment markets. In comparison, 2015 reached just over €700 million with 45 transactions. Austria was the star performer with almost €800 million transacted, which made up 67% of the total investment volume. In other CEE markets volume was lower than in 2015 with a particular decline in Poland which more than halved in volume. The Czech Republic accounted for 18% of total CEE investment share; most of the investment took place in Prague which saw 7 transactions including the Hilton Old Town, Park Hotel and Chopin Hotel.