The Czech industrial real estate market has experienced a major boom in construction activity in 2023. Although there is currently more than 1.5 million sqm of space under construction, there are few newly completed projects and the vacancy rate remains below 2%. The total supply of modern industrial space in the Czech Republic increased by only 182,200 sqm during Q3 2023, bringing the total to 11.44 million sqm at the end of September. Rents have stabilised after rocketing over the last three years and at the end of September were between €7.50-7.70 per sqm per month for warehouse space and €9.50-12.50 per sqm per month for office space, reported, according to a Colliers survey. 

Total transaction volume in Q3 2023 in Belgrade was €456 million, which represents a decrease of around 21% year-on-year, according to real estate agency Cordon’s report for Q3 2023.

As elsewhere, the investment market in Poland is struggling with high interest rates and financing costs. Some asset classes though, such as flats for rent and warehouses, remain a desirable commodity among investors - this is how the panel discussion focusing on investment and financing trends at Future of Real Estate 2023 can be summarised. The event was organised by Property Forum and RICS in Warsaw this week.

Property Forum is proud to announce the first edition of its annual listing of the 50 most influential people in the Polish real estate market. To access the publication, fill out the pop-up window that appears on this page.

Over the past decade, Hungarian real estate investors have successfully expanded outside of their home market. Firms such as Wing, Futureal, Adventum, Indotek and others have become major players in many European countries, mainly Poland and Romania. They managed to expand via acquisitions of both companies and projects. Part of their funds came from bond issues in Hungary within the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme of the National Bank of Hungary. We have prepared a timeline of the notable transactions and an overview of the market’s key players to provide a better understanding of this trend.

Cushman & Wakefield has summarized the third quarter of 2023 on the Polish office market. Office development activity continues to slow down both in Warsaw and in Poland’s regional city markets. Nominal leasing activity remains high in the largest regional cities, with Warsaw reporting a record number of leases.

CEE's modern industrial and warehouse space exceeded 59 million sqm in H1 2023. In twelve months, over 7,6 million sqm was completed, expanding the market by 16%, and currently, an additional 5 million sqm is under construction. With a 19% share of the total size, the Czech Republic is the second largest market in the region, the first is Poland with 52%. The demand is decreasing, but the nearshoring trend presents new opportunities. Cushman & Wakefield presents its latest findings. 

Despite a challenging financing environment, mixed-use developments are gaining ground in Romania as they provide a better mix of facilities for end–users and tenants, concluded speakers of the mixed-use panel of SEE Property Forum 2023, held in Bucharest recently.

In the first half of the year, there was a sharp decline in the volume of real estate investments in Poland. Despite the market recovery at the end of summer, the total volume in Q1-Q3 2023 amounted to only €1.7 billion. After the first half of the year with few portfolio transactions, in the third quarter, there were already four - in the warehouse and retail sectors, but none of them exceeded the value of €100 million. Interestingly, despite the turmoil, the Polish investment market welcomed 3 new players this year. Avison Young Poland summarizes the property investment market in Poland in Q3 2023

Co-working space provider WeWork, which was once valued at $47 billion, has been forced to file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. The filing is set to provide the company with protection from its creditors and landlords as it restructures its vast debts. Based on its latest share price, WeWork is now worth less than $50 million.