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Developer activity in the Prague office market in Q1 2023 was still below the pre-pandemic level. As a result, only about 145,000 sqm of office space is under construction and no new construction has even started in recent months, according to the latest report by the Prague Research Forum, whose members include CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank and Savills.

During the first quarter of 2023, the volume of investment in commercial real estate exceeded €477 million, a result that far exceeded initial expectations. The reason for these positive figures is a single large transaction into the retail property portfolio, which accounts for the majority of the total quarterly investment volume. This transaction is the reason why most of the funds in the past quarter went to the retail segment. Domestic investors were the most active last quarter, accounting for an unprecedented 87% of the total, according to Knight Frank's analysis of the Czech commercial real estate market.

According to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield, the Polish retail market got off to a flying start in 2023, with over 100,000 sqm of new retail space coming on stream in the first quarter of the year and a number of new openings expected to deliver a total of 300,000 sqm. The biggest single challenge facing both retail tenants and landlords is high inflation which has resulted in falling sales for some shopping categories.

Ukraine’s logistics real estate segment has suffered significant losses and destruction since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Russia targeted warehouses and about 500 thousand square meters of warehouse space was destroyed during the attack on the capital in the Kyiv region. Iryna Nastych summarised the situation in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum.

According to Savills' latest European logistics outlook, the take-up of industrial and logistics space across the continent totalled 37.5 million sqm in 2022. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, this signifies a fall of only 6% on 2021’s total of 40.2 million sqm, which was a record high for the sector.

For the first time, Zagreb Property Forum was organised in the Croatian capital, bringing together real estate experts from the local market and beyond. The event confirmed increasing interest by investors and developers for Croatia, especially following the country’s admission to the Eurozone and the Schengen Area. However, given the global macroeconomic climate, uncertainty persists.

The Polish Chamber of Commercial Real Estate (PINK) has published figures on the office market in Warsaw for Q1 2023. The data is sourced from advisory companies from the commercial real estate sector (BNP Paribas Real Estate, CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank, Newmark Polska, Savills) and includes information on modern office stock, new completions, take-up volumes and vacancy rates.

2022 saw an almost complete recovery of Croatia’s tourism industry with only 2% fewer overnight stays than in 2019. Hotels were almost at full capacity (98% open). In the summer season, hotels achieved 5% higher revenues than in 2019, primarily through an increase in occupancy of 25% (to 79%) compared to the 2021 season, which means a 9% gap compared to the occupancy of 2019, CBS International, part of Cushman & Wakefield Group reports..

The gross sales turnover of a total of 1,800 shops located on the 30 SES Spar European Shopping Center sites in Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic continued to grow in the past year. With sales up 18.5% and a €3.1 billion turnover compared to 2021, SES enjoyed a record year in terms of development since its inception in 2007. In 2022, SES invested in numerous sustainable measures such as the large-scale installation of photovoltaic systems and the ongoing interim expansion of e-charging stations, currently amounting to 175 charging points coupled with extensive LED retrofitting.

In the CEE region, Prague placed second in terms of the price of fitting out an office. With €1,159 being the average cost per square metre in Prague, it is just over half of what is standard in top cities in Germany or the UK, where costs often exceed €2,000. Compared with the last year, the prices have grown all over Europe due to inflation and other factors. The 10% increase in Prague means that office occupiers need to carefully consider their office usage and space needs when redesigning their offices. Sustainability and DE&I are also increasingly affecting fit-out requirements, reports Cushman & Wakefield in their latest analysis.