New projects are building up slowly, the number of commenced constructions are declining and high demand remains. At the end of last year, approximately 8,100 units were under construction in Prague. This is the lowest result since 2014. The total number of completions reached 6,176 apartments which is 5% below 2016 levels. 2018 will most probably not bring a major change, rather the opposite. In 2018, the construction of around 3,800 new flats will commence, the lowest figure since 2009. About 5,000 units will be completed, marking a significant decline compared to 2017.

Hagag Development Europe is investing over €90 million in its first Bucharest project and the company’s largest residential project in Romania, H Pipera Lake.

International Campus AG, a specialist in micro-living products, is continuing its growth in Europe and expanding into the Czech Republic. In a joint venture with Czech project developer Karlín Group, International Campus has acquired a development project in the Holešovice district of Prague with 529 high-quality apartments for students. It has been agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The building that is to become “THE FIZZ Prague” will have a gross floor area above ground level of 16,529 square metres over eight floors. The opening is planned for Q1 2020.

Romanian developer One United Properties plans to launch a residential project (One Mircea Eliade) with 250 apartments and the construction of a 24,000 sqm office building (One Tower) next to Bucharest’s Floreasca Lake, on the site of the former Automatica site.

AFI Europe Romania has received the building permit that allows for construction works to begin on AFI City, the first residential project developed by the company in Romania. The building process has been divided into phases, the first one being scheduled to begin in the next 2 months.

In 2017 the residential market took the lead in terms of land deals, recording all-time highs for both the number and value of sale/purchase contracts. The market for land suitable for office buildings and hotels also continued apace in 2017. The appetite of developers for new purchases was underlined by deals for several dozen properties throughout Poland, according to JLL.

In Q3 2017 the largest increase in house prices was registered in the Czech Republic. According to fresh data published by Eurostat, Hungary also saw double-digit growth, while prices rose by 5-10% in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania

YIT has sold housing projects in Prague, the Czech Republic and in Bratislava, Slovakia to YCE Housing I fund. The value of the projects is approximately €50 million, and the sales are recorded in the last quarter of the year.

Cityland, a Bucharest-based residential real estate agency, will start selling apartments in bitcoin in response to the growing popularity of the virtual currency, profit.ro reports.

The Board of Directors of TK Development has decided that going forward, property development activities will be confined to the Danish and Swedish markets, and the activities in Poland will be divested.