COVID-19 is going away very slowly, which is putting pressure on the digitization of residential sales. Solutions that enable digital signatures, online viewings and even online selling are becoming necessary tools for residential developers, says Jakub Licak, Business Development Manager at CEE-based proptech Realpad, who’s responsible for the company's international expansion in Romania and Bulgaria. He talked to Property Forum about his experiences on the Romanian market and discussed Realpad’s expansion strategy.

Romanian developer One United Properties announced it received the construction permit for One Verdi Park, a new residential project in Bucharest.

Zdeněk Tůma the former governor of the Czech National Bank (2000-2010), portfolio manager Martin Pětivoký and Martin Hubinger , the owner of residential developer Realism, have founded IRQ Funds and are launching a new fund named IRQ Residential Rental for qualified investors focused on rental housing.

Multifamily investment has proven to be the most resilient real estate sector in Europe during 2020 and the new core, with a 6% increase year on year and a 17% increase on the past 5-year average, according to Savills.

In March 2021, Czech-Dutch investment company Fidurock has added a new asset to its residential portfolio in Prague.

Dagesh Group, which owns the Platinum Center office building and developed other boutique residential projects, is investing  €6.5 million in a new residential project in Bucharest.

Czech-Dutch investment company Fidurock has obtained a building permit for the reconstruction of an apartment building in Brno.

Swedish company Heimstaden, the third-largest provider of rental housing in Europe, continues its investments in housing in the Czech Republic. The company, which bought Residomo with 42,500 apartments mainly in the Moravian-Silesian Region last year, is now expanding its portfolio with a €22.7 million acquisition in Plzeň from Czech developer Daramis.  The new assets include 226 flats and 5 non-residential premises.

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.