Existing income-producing assets with a reasonable capital value per sqm and strong tenants will be a winner for many investors in the upcoming period. Avison Young has published its CEE property investment market report for H1 2022.

According to a report prepared by Newmark Polska, at the end of the second quarter of 2022, Poland’s total warehouse and industrial stock amounted to over 26.1 million sqm, representing a 19.5% increase on the same period in 2021. New supply in the first half of the year surpassed 2.4 million sqm, of which close to 53% was delivered in the first three months, marking the best quarterly result in the history of the Polish market.

Collies released its 2021 Global Impact Report today, highlighting the firm’s performance and ongoing commitment to delivering resilient buildings, inclusive workplaces and spaces that promote health and wellbeing for its professionals, clients, and communities.

The Polish office market has more than 12.6 million sqm of modern space at the end of Q2 2022. Traditionally, Warsaw remains the leader in total stock, with eight major regional markets led by Krakow and Wroclaw not slowing down. An example is Tricity, which joined the ranks of office millionaires in the second quarter of this year. Optimism from rising demand is emerging from the market picture. AXI IMMO presents a data summary for the first half of 2022 on the Polish office market.

Most CEE economies have seen faster recoveries post-Covid than Western EU economies, with Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Baltics being especially strong performers. However the global inflationary pressures, higher interest rates and supply chain issues, together with the possible recession in China, might impact CEE economies in the second half of 2022 due to their reliance on capital flows from other parts of the world, reveals a report by Colliers.

With energy prices rising at an unprecedented rate and the system of governmental discounts on utility bills in Hungary significantly changing, working from the office might become a more attractive option even for those that love working only from home. In the coming months, not only employees but employers will also try to reduce their energy use. Energy-efficient office buildings will further increase in value as they will become a more attractive option for tenants. Flex and serviced offices will also see increased demand as they will be able to provide a more financially stable option for tenants with utility costs included in the rental fee.

Brno's office stock reached 635,900 sqm in the first half of 2022 and 75,300 sqm is being built there. At the same time, Ostrava's office stock has 219,100 sqm and builts 21,000 sqm of offices. None of these regional metropolises had finished a new office building in the first half of this year. In both localities, prime rents increased reflecting the general pressure on prices in new developments, reports the Regional Research Forum.

The fears of a recession are likely to cool down the red-hot real estate market in CEE countries, Erste specialists expect. According to them, this will be influenced mainly by surging inflation, the cost of credit and cooling down of the borrowing, and shrinking of the disposable household income which will also worsen the borrowing appetite in the coming periods. There is a change in the respondent’s behaviour too. Whereas respondents from Poland, Hungary and Croatia are open to buying or building a house, Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenians are less inclined to do so, say Erste experts in their recent special report.

In Q2 2022, Prague's current office space volume reached 3,75 million sqm and 215,700 sqm is under construction. It is expected that the construction volume will increase by 74,000 sqm of office space by the end of 2022. Rents grew by 18% y-o-y and further growth in coming periods is also expected, JLL's Prague Office Market Q2 report says.

During five months of war in Ukraine, millions of square meters of housing, production facilities, and infrastructure were destroyed. To speed up the recovery, Ukrainian legislation governing urban planning was simplified. Alexandra Fedotova, Partner, Attorney and Head of Ader Haber's real estate and construction practice and the Board Member of the Charity Fund Housing For IDP, reviewed the changes in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum.