The land market in Romania recorded transactions with a combined value of around €250 million in H1 2023, driven by increasing demand in the retail and residential segments.  

CTP has leased approximately 68,000 sqm of industrial and warehouse space to Mercator, a major Serbian supermarket chain, at CTPark Belgrade City, which will be the largest logistics hub in Serbia when complete.

Czech real estate fund ZDR Investments has bought the Galeria Bakar shopping park in Rijeka, Croatia, for €40 million. Part of the shopping park has already been completed and another one will be ready within a year. The acquisition brings the fund's portfolio to 39 properties with a value in excess of CZK 10 billion (over €411 million), the group reports on its website.

Focus Estate Fund plans to convert its entire shopping centre portfolio to solar-powered facilities. The first initiative was inaugurated with the installation of solar panels at Galeria Awangarda in Bartoszyce.

The number of photovoltaic surfaces installed on SES shopping malls is constantly increasing. This year, SES has invested in the construction of photovoltaic systems in the five Slovenian shopping centres, namely Aleja, Citypark and Center Vič in Ljubljana, Citycenter Celje and Europark Maribor. The systems, boasting a total output of 4,300 kilowatts, have been in operation since July and August. They cover around one-fifth of the centres’ electricity requirement with a 1,200-ton saving in terms of CO2 emissions. The SES climate objective to fit photovoltaic systems on at least 50 percent of its available mall roof surfaces by 2040 has therefore already been achieved or exceeded to a significant extent in Slovenia. SES is currently operating four photovoltaic systems in Austria. An additional three locations are scheduled to be equipped with these systems by the end of the year.

Bucharest is the largest retail market in Romania with a total stock of 1.24 million sqm in operational projects, while across the country Timișoara has the biggest volume of shopping centres and retail parks of all regional cities. 

James Fife, CEO of LCP Properties Poland has talked to Property Forum about the company`s investment plans, the impact of the high interest rates and the entrance into the warehouse market.

NEPI Rockcastle, the biggest owner of shopping centres in CEE, recorded a net operating income (NOI) of €241 million in H1 2023, up by 23% compared to the same period of last year over strong rental growth and leasing activity, alongside improved cost recovery

Offices might become hotels, hotels can be converted into apartment buildings and warehouses may serve as retail centres. But location, revenue-generating capacity and environmental considerations are the most important factors in converting successfully an existing commercial property, say experts of Hungarian developer Wing. Ernő Takács, Deputy CEO, responsible for hotels and retail at Wing and Chairman of the Association of Hungarian Property Developers and Gábor Angel, Deputy CEO, responsible for offices at Wing, talked to Property Forum about the challenges of changing the use of a property.

The yield shift began in Hungary with a bit of a delay compared to the regional countries, where repricing has already become evident. Office maintains its dominance but investors have started to see retail assets as more attractive than before, says Attila Balogh, Head of Capital Markets at Hungarian property advisor firm Eston International.