ARTICLES LABELLED WITH TAG RICS

What will it take for SEE to attract more foreign capital? Is there enough product available on the market? These are just some of the questions that were asked and answered at SEE Property Forum 2018, a Property Forum and RICS event that attracted over 45 speakers and nearly 300 visitors from 15 countries.

The Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors relaunched the questionnaire-based survey research on Budapest’s commercial real estate market, with the review period of H2 2017. Over the preceding two years the typical rent for commercial properties observed for most property types has increased by more than 15 percent until the end of the second half of 2017. Prime yields for the office market and shopping centres approached the historical minimum observed in 2007 with 10-25 basis points. Most of the survey respondents expect an increase in demand in both the investment and the tenant markets for commercial properties in the next 6 months, however, with regards the development activity, the majority of respondents foresee an unchanged level or a drop in demand for several types of property.

Market players are highly optimistic about the future of CEE investments, but finding the right quality product can be a tough challenge. Our summary of Bratislava Property Forum 2018, co-organised by Property Forum and RICS.

The level of confidence in Central and Eastern European markets seems to have peaked according to the RICS Commercial Property Monitor. Expectations are still highly positive, but sentiment indices have topped out in the previous two quarters. Results for Q4 2017 demonstrate that both occupier and investment demand is still strong but the share of those who believe that some markets are close to peaking is growing steadily.

The European retail market has changed drastically and market players looking to stay in the race need to invest in innovation. Although there is no definite recipe for success, the general consensus is that offline stores need to transform into places that provide an experience. Panellists at the RICS European Retail Conference 2018 in Milan provided an insight into the key industry developments

Retail is changing rapidly with e-commerce having already brought on the death of several shopping centres overseas. Europe is not exempt from this phenomenon, even though the market in general strongly differs from that of the U. S. An interview with Savino Natalicchio MRICS, Director of the Retail Business Unit at Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group’s Advisory and Valuation Department in Milan, who talked about the future of retail and changing shopping centre valuation practices.

2017 has not ended yet, but it is safe to say that it has been a record year for the CEE property market. The period of strong growth is not over yet, market sentiment is positive and all signs point to 2018 bringing new opportunities for expansion in the property business. In times like these it is especially important to find the time to share knowledge and make new connections, which is why Property Forum will continue to provide a meeting point for the CEE property industry. In 2018 Property Forum events will be held in Bratislava, Bucharest, Prague, Vienna and – for the first time – in Warsaw.

Sevdelina Petrova MRICS (Bulgaria) and Maja Ostanek MRICS (Slovenia) were awarded the Chris H. Bennett Memorial Prize. The awards were handed out at the Portfolio Property Investment Forum conference in Budapest, where the achievements of several big players of the Hungarian property market were also acknowledged.

RICS presented its new Board of Members in the Czech Republic, who will operate under the chairmanship of William Bucknell MRICS, Managing Director of Flow East Real Estate, one of the largest private investors in the Czech Republic.

The outlook for Central and Eastern European markets is still positive according to the RICS Commercial Property Monitor. Results for Q3 2017 show that both occupier and investment demand are still on the rise across the region. The peak of the current cycle is, however, undoubtedly getting closer.