The Hungarian construction industry started off this year with an exceptionally high Activity Start indicator: nearly HUF 1,300 billion worth of construction works started in Q1 2022. The Activity Start of EBI Construction Activity Report in the first quarter is a new record (construction works have never started in such a high value in one quarter) and exceeded the level of Q2 2021 (the highest so far) by almost 37%. Yet, this spike is mainly thanks to the launch of two major infrastructure projects, according to the EBI Construction Activity Report, prepared by Buildecon, Eltinga (creation of indicators and development of algorithms for aggregation) and iBuild (project research and project database).

According to Yasen Georgiev from EPI, EECFA Bulgaria, like elsewhere in the EECFA countries that are not directly impacted by the war in Ukraine, the construction market in Bulgaria entered a period of an increasing unpredictability. What stands behind is an interplay between domestic and external factors.

The city of Ljubljana is expected to see some major urban change by 2025. As it was announced last month, a huge mixed-use project will be built next to the city’s planned new transportation hub, including a hotel, a shopping centre, offices and apartments. The Emonika project, which has a long history, will be developed by Mendota Invest, owned by Hungary’s OTP Real Estate Investment Fund. Property Forum summarised what we know about the project so far and how it could potentially transform Slovenia’s small and illiquid commercial real estate market.

The war launched by Russia on February 24th is still going on in Ukraine. Infrastructure facilities are being damaged every day. The cost of damages that experts share changes daily. According to the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the total expenses for reconstruction will range from $220 billion to $540 billion, writes Anna Nestulia, Principal at Invest in Projects for Property Forum.

The beginning of the year was marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which caused various obstacles to the Slovak economy. It pushes inflation up to the highest in 17 years as also the prices of food, housing and energy. Nevertheless, the lifted lockdown measures helped boost retail sales and new office leases surpassed renegotiations for the sixth quarter in a row. Experts also saw a record quarter with substantial take-up and plunging vacancy rates, Cushman & Wakefield Slovakia presents in their new report on the Slovak economy.

The average price of an older apartment in the Czech Republic exceeded CZK 90,000 per sqm for the first time in Q1 2022, according to a study by the real estate group European Housing Services (EHS). In Prague, an older apartment costs more than 120,000 per sqm and in Brno, it is over 90,000. Rents have returned to prices before the coronavirus crisis, the Czech News Agency quotes the EHS report.

Between the pandemic, the war, rising prices and increasingly frequent warnings of recession — these are the conditions in which the retail sector operated in the first quarter of 2022. The authors of the cyclical report from BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland point out, among others: continued strengthening of the position of discount store chains and growing interest in facilities with a high potential for modernization, expansion and repositioning.

The beginning of 2022 has brought changes to the local and global economic picture, which have also affected the behaviour of Polish consumers and Poland’s retail market. This has resulted in a further increase in the popularity of necessities and the continued popularity of convenience centres. However, retail growth is recorded by all formats including shopping centres, which augurs well for the rest of the year, reports the latest JLL report Retail Market in Poland – Q1 2022.

The beginning of Q1 2022 has brought record numbers. €898 million was invested into Czech real estate assets in Q1 2022, demonstrating a 210% year-on-year increase. Without the c. €1.3 billion Residomo transaction which was closed in Q1 2020, this quarter's investment volume would be the highest since Q1 2019, Savills' latest research shows.

Barely has the pandemic subsided, the investment market is already facing new challenges due to the war in Ukraine. The end of the first quarter of the year was partly influenced by the new geopolitical situation when the whole real estate market held a breath. Despite new circumstances, ongoing transactions are closing, which is reflected in Q1 2022 investment market results. Furthermore, regional investors from Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia are keeping their interest in real assets located in Poland.