The property investment market in Romania totalled €518 million in the first half of 2022, up 30.5% compared to the same period of last year, with retail and office sectors driving deals, according to real estate consultancy Crosspoint Real Estate. 

In the Q2 of 2022, the Slovak economy was primarily marked by flaming inflation that puts raw materials costs at new heights. On the other hand, in the same period of this year, the Slovak industry recovered. This was mainly due to the automotive industry which continues to be the driving force of Slovakia’s economy. The office market went through a major change, as most of the stock was reclassified by the Bratislava Research Forum. And in retail, there were fewer projects under construction due to consistently growing construction materials costs and delivery length, the Cushman & Wakefield presents in their new Marketbeat report on the Slovak economy.

Square 7 Properties has started the construction of a new retail park in Giurgiu, with a gross lettable area of 7,000 sqm. 

German developer Trei Real Estate has opened its thirtieth Vendo Park retail park in Poland. It is located in Otwock, in the south-eastern outskirts of Warsaw.

Emma Toma, Head of the Office Leasing Division at AFI Europe Romania, spoke to Property Forum about the developer’s expansion plans in the residential segment and the trend of rising rents in Class A office buildings.

The amount of property investments in Romania totaled €336 million in the first half of 2022, up around 13% year-on-year, while solid pipeline of transactions is under negotiation and could be completed by the end of the year, according to a report of real estate consultancy CBRE. 

The rise of e-commerce and changing customer preferences have created a new phenomenon: Dark Stores; that is, online retailers delivering goods within 15 minutes of ordering. During the pandemic and the closure of brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce reached its peak. Some e-shops saw their sales grow by several tens of percents last year. In connection with this, demand for smaller, centrally located e-shop locations and warehouses with 150 to 500 sqm of space began to grow, especially in larger cities with sufficiently dense housing.

The Ukrainian retail industry together with the rest of the country is going through one of the most alarming stages in its history. Shopping malls are increasingly becoming targets for enemy fire. It is difficult to estimate the financial losses caused by the Russian army as the situation is constantly changing. According to the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centres (UCSC) the losses incurred by the shopping mall industry as a result of the aggression amount to $9.8 billion. This calculation includes direct and indirect losses, writes Katy Klyueva in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum.

Challenging times are still going on, thus investment market participants are closely following the impact of the turmoil in Europe on the economy and its long‑lasting consequences. In spite of the record-high inflation as well as continuously raised interest rates, the Polish investment market keeps track with 32 investment deals closed in Q2 2022, exceeding €1.2 billion, Avison Young reports.

Classical shopping centres should adapt to the latest trends in retail to survive. That includes establishing strong ties between the digital and physical world and defining the tenant mix more accurately. Entertainment is also a must as these centres will have to become beloved community centres as well, says Márk Balástyai, Project Director of the recently opened Etele Plaza, built by Hungarian developer Futureal.