Investment activity is accelerating, especially in Poland and Slovakia, while interest from Asian companies in logistics and manufacturing is increasing across CEE, according to a Colliers report. 

CPI Property Group (CPIPG) has signed 198 leasing contracts covering 128,400 sqm of the company’s office space in Warsaw during 2024, which accounted for 18% of the total demand for office space in the city. 

Commercial real estate investments in Romania reached €750 million in 2024, marking a 58% increase compared to the previous year, though slightly below the €800 million annual average recorded over the past decade, according to a Colliers report. 

M Core Group has purchased seven strip malls in Romania from property investor MAS for an undisclosed sum. The projects with a combined leasable area of around 32,000 sqm have a full occupancy rate. The strip malls are based in Slobozia, Focșani, Râmnicu Sărat, Târgu Secuiesc, Sebeș, Făgăraș and Gheorgheni.

New retail projects with a combined leasable area of around 180,000 sqm were completed in Romania during 2024, down by around 15% versus 2023, with retail parks accounting for the biggest share of deliveries, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

DIY retailer Leroy Merlin has leased around 11,000 sqm for a new store that will open in Iași-based Mall Moldova during H1 2025. 

Repaco Capital and Weststar Real Estate have delivered the Crevedia Retail Park, near Bucharest, following an investment of €15 million that was partly financed by BT.

Cushman & Wakefield has summarised the situation in the Polish retail market. Over half a million square meters of new retail space came on stream last year, marking the highest new supply level in Poland since 2015. This robust development activity occurred amid rising demand from new retailers and improving consumer sentiment which boosted retail sales.

M Core, the biggest owner of retail parks in Romania, has purchased Shopping City Suceava from Argo Capital, for an undisclosed sum.

According to the latest report by Avison Young, after a challenging period of investment slowdown in 2023, the 2024 results signal a return to stability and a hint of optimism. Poland’s total transaction volume in 2024 more than doubled compared to 2023, reflecting a significant resurgence in market activity.