The accelerated growth of work from home arrangements has generated a new market for office space that can be leased directly by companies that have ongoing rent contracts for bigger surfaces. At present, around 70,000 sqm is available for sublease, which is a record figure for the Romanian market, according to representatives of JLL. 

The average asking price for an apartment in Romania stood at €1,379 per sqm in March, up 1.5% compared to the previous month, according to a report by real estate portal Imobiliare.ro. 

Just one month ago, we reported that February 2021 had been the strongest month for the past ten years with regard to the number of transactions in the Hungarian housing market. It now appears that the record was short-lived as there were 15,630 residential property deals nationwide in March according to the latest monthly transaction estimate of real estate group Duna House. The figure is more than 1,000 higher than in February.

Polish developer Cavatina Holding, which has been active in the regional cities of Poland, has recently announced plans to go public. Rafał Malarz, CEO of the company talked to Property Forum about investing in large mixed-use projects, the future of the PRS sector in Poland, possible changes in the retail and office markets and shared some details about the upcoming IPO.

Prima Development Group started in January the works of the Arena Residence residential project in Oradea. The project with 1,226 apartments will be completed in 2024 and the total investment amounts to €65 million.

In 2020, Echo Investment achieved a net profit of PLN 122 million, which was the result of hand over 1,505 apartments to clients, growth in value of the commercial projects under construction, as well as completed Resi4Rent projects.

Homing Properties is investing €10 million in a new residential project in Bucharest, the company announced. Homing Properties will begin this year with the construction work of a residential project in the city centre, in the area of ​​the Grădinea Icoanei, which will have 45 apartments.

Czech development group Horizon has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of 240,000 square metres of land from the Manghi Group in the village of Statenice in the district of Prague-West. The Aura - Bydlení Statenice residential project will be built on the newly-acquired plot, eventually offering over 500 units in the form of family houses and flats, while helping to strengthen local civic amenities. The start of development, as well as the sale of semi-detached houses and villas from the first phase of the project, is planned for this autumn.

Vastint Poland has signed a contract with Budimex SA for general contracting services for the initial part of the second phase of the Waterfront complex in Gdynia. The planned investment will be built on Hryniewickiego Street, in the vicinity of Kościuszko Square, and will comprise the construction of four buildings totalling ​​45,000 sqm including underground garages. The general contractor plans to start construction in May of this year, with the investment scheduled for completion in 2023.

Residential rents in Hungary rose slightly in February, but looking at the longer term, this appears to be more stagnation than a substantial turnaround, the joint rent index of the Central Statistical Office (KSH) and real estate portal ingatlan.com shows. The average rent rose 1.1% in Hungary and 0.8% in Budapest month-on-month.