The operating results recorded by Immofinanz were stable in year-on-year comparison at EUR 45.3 million in the first quarter of the abbreviated 2016 financial year (Q1 2015/16: EUR 46.9 million). Rental income fell from EUR 82.2 million to EUR 76.8 million due to temporary rent reductions in Moscow and the planned sale of properties. 

At the end of H1 2016, Poland’s office stock totalled 8.7 million sqm. Warsaw remains the largest office market with Kraków, Wrocław and Tricity becoming major regional office hubs. Nearly 572,000 sqm of modern office space was delivered onto the Polish market in H1 2016, setting a new semi-annual record. Cushman & Wakefield its newest report, Property Times: Office Market In A Growth Phase.

Airports have become an important part of daily life and they have proven to be essential for the development of cities and regions. Good and fast connections are key parts of doing business and the lack of efficient infrastructure can hinder the economic growth of entire regions. Airports in Central and Eastern Europe have a long way to go until they can secure their place on the global map, but they can easily improve their position within the region by increasing their competitiveness. One of the key ingredients of success is establishing adequate transport links.

Echo Investment has published its H1 2016 results. The Group had the revenue of PLN 280.5 mln in H1 2016 (compared to PLN 273.8 mln in H1 2015), a gross sales profit of PLN 145.4 mln (compared to PLN 135 mln), an operating profit of PLN 404 mln (compared to PLN 31.3 mln) and a net profit of PLN 299 mln (compared to PLN 22.7 mln).

In H1 2016, total modern retail stock in Poland rose to more than 13.5 million sqm GLA. The key trends include new shopping centre and retail park openings in cities below 100,000 inhabitants and the growth of the outlet centre sector in agglomerations with 200,000–400,000 inhabitants. Cushman & Wakefield has released its data on the Polish retail market in H1 2016 in its report Property Times: Increased market competition calls for a quick response.

Romania and Hungary are seeing new capital flowing into their respective commercial real estate markets as a consequence of a significant yield spread between Western and Eastern Europe. Skanska has relased a new report, focuing on investment opportunities in the CEE region.

Before the global economic crisis the financial sector dominated the Budapest office market, banks leased the greatest number of new offices and impressive new headquarters were built for them. By now the situation has changed: the biggest players are from the ICT (information and communication technology) sector in Budapest, leading companies are building new headquarters, and the globally influential Hungarian companies are moving into larger and larger offices.

At the end of June 2016 total modern warehouse stock in Poland stood at 10,500,000 sqm. Occupier and developer activity is expected to continue its strong momentum, as revealed by Cushman & Wakefield in its Polish Industrial Market Q2 2016 report.

Sixteen office buildings have been completed in Warsaw in the first half of 2016, totalling 350,000 sqm. 100,000 sqm is scheduled for completion in H2 2016, which will bring the annual supply to a new record high of 450,000 sqm. Cushman & Wakefield has published its Property Times report on the Warsaw office market for H1 2016.

Investment into Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (excluding Russia) for H1 2016 registered a substantial increase (59%) compared to same period of last year, surpassing €5 billion. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015 with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly, says CBRE.