Some of the most mature PRS markets in Europe are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Nordics. The Polish PRS market is still in its infancy, but more and more players are declaring their willingness to build portfolios of thousands of rental apartments in Poland. Experts of Cushman & Wakefield present an outlook for the PRS growth in Poland.

Institutional investors have acquired Echo Investment's bonds with a total value of PLN 195 million. The obtained funds will be allocated to the company's development, particularly in the promising residential sector.

Hungary-based residential developer Cordia International Zrt. continues its international expansion strategy. After acquiring UK developer Blackswan last year, the company has announced the acquisition of a new office space in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England, which will become Cordia Blackswan’s UK headquarter. The property developer is set to refurbish and move into a former branch of Lloyds bank. The historical building will not only be home to Cordia Blackswan, but it will also offer modern office and co-working spaces.

Hungarian residential developer Cordia plans to hand over a record number of homes this year in Hungary. Thanks to an expanded government family support scheme and the re-introduction of a 5% VAT rate on residential property, the company expects sustained strong demand and will therefore increase its offer by more than 800 new homes as part of several developments. Work is continuing uninterrupted while protective measures are observed, with full online customer service introduced last year.

Budapest’s housing market is becoming more eventful for used and newly-built homes alike as sales have started to pick up in early 2021. As a result, developers sold more than 1,600 new homes between December 2020 and February 2021, nearly half the total number of new homes sold last year. At this rate, total sales figures may even double this year. As usual, most new homes were sold in Budapest's District 13, but the Inner Pest districts have also attracted large numbers of buyers. Data from the Budapest Housing Market Report by Eltinga and Ecorys reveals the number of new homes sold early this year in various locations.

In 2020, the total volume invested in land acquisitions in the Bucharest – Ilfov region reached €194 million, reflecting a 6.5% decrease compared to 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.  

Trei Real Estate’s development portfolio grew by 33 percent to €1.2 billion in 2020 from €900 million in 2019. The sum total breaks down into €1.0 billion in residential real estate and c. €200 million in retail real estate. The proprietary portfolio of Trei maintained its total of c. €1.2 billion and it includes 349 assets.

Czech development group Horizon has a record year behind it, despite the uncertainty and difficult conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the company's total revenue from the sale of 337 units in five different projects reached €100 million (CZK 2.7 billion). Horizon plans to build around a thousand more units this year and will put another 550 apartments on sale.

Over 24,000 residential units are in construction in Bucharest and its surroundings, according to the market report ”Romania Residential Market Genome 2021” released by real estate consultant SVN Romania. 

Wallberg completed the first tower of the XCity Towers project developed in the northern part of Timişoara and the apartments were sold in full, the company announced.