H2 2021 saw the highest number of newly commenced apartment constructions in Prague since 2008. The total number of apartments under construction rose to 12,630 units at the end of H2 2021. At the same time, the number of new apartments delivered was the weakest annual result since 2011 as only 3,700 apartments were completed. Still, the interest in buying flats was record-breaking, the best since 2016 and 22% above the 5-year average, says JLL in its Prague residential market report.

Echo Investment has had another successful year. The obtained net profit of PLN 189 million mainly results from handing over to customers 1,622 apartments built by Echo Investment, as well as 1,128 apartments of Archicom, an increase in the value of office buildings and stronger performance of the Libero shopping centre.

Develia plans to deliver 600-800 apartments in the Private Rented Sector segment (PRS, institutional rental market) this year, the company said. The current land bank allows the company to build nearly 9,000 sqm premises.

The influx of refugees has resulted in further demand on Poland’s already fast-paced residential market. At the same time, fears over a prolonged or escalated crisis might decrease investment activity in the short run. Bartłomiej Annusewicz, CEO of luxury residential real estate agency Lions Estate talked to Property Forum about the trends driving various segments of the market.

The office complex BB Centrum in Prague 4, newly renamed Brumlovka, will be expanded by two more buildings. The developer Passerinvest, which has been building here for three decades, plans to build multifunctional buildings Hila and Orion, reports local daily E15.

Szymon Wojciechowski, Founder & CEO of APA Wojciechowski Architects talked to Property Forum about the war in Ukraine, the ideas of sustainable design in architecture and the ongoing changes in the Polish property market.

Occam Real Estate wants to expand its development activities in Košice. After the successful acquisition of the 17,650 sqm BCT1 office building, which it bought in 2020 from the development section of the investment group Penta, it is now entering the residential development field with a €30 million project, reports the web portal reality.trend.sk.

More brownfield sites in Prague are set for new residential development. Czech developer Ekospol is planning its big comeback to the domestic development scene and wants to build 2,000 flats in Prague's Zličín district within 10 years. It is now waiting for the necessary permits to start building Ekocity Zličín, company spokesman Filip Sušanka told Property Forum today. 

The military boarding school Hviezda in Bratislava, also known as "Kukurica", has been dilapidated for many years. The iconic high-rise building from the 1970s has a distinctive architectural style yet is a local landmark. However, it may already be on the verge of being saved. The Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic (MoD) has started taking the first steps towards reconstruction, according to Slovak websites reality.trend.sk and yimba.sk.

The pandemic has not changed the strategy of RSJ Investments. The company’s core focus in the real estate segment remains predominantly on investments in residential and logistics/industrial development projects. Nevertheless, the pandemic indeed makes certain asset classes, such as retail, riskier, admits Marcel Kolesár MRICS, Transaction Manager at the real estate division of RSJ Investments, in an interview to Property Forum.