Political risk seems not to be affecting the performance of CEE markets. Members of the investment panel at the Portfolio-RICS Valuation & Investment 2018 conference in Budapest are confident about the future of the market and view industrial/logistics and retail as the most attractive asset classes.

Digitisation and automation are transforming the property business, not just in Western Europe but in CEE markets as well. 200 people came together at the second Prague Property Forum 2018, a conference organised by Property Forum and RICS, where an international group of speakers discussed the effects of technology on the property business.

Market players still look positively toward the future of Central and Eastern European property markets but they are visibly less buoyant than they were during most of 2017. Results for Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary are the most positive, while in Romania the picture is rather mixed. All data points to the Czech investment market being in a state close to peaking.

This year´s central topic at Prague Property Forum will be the digital transformation effectively changing the real estate market. The event, which will be held for the second time in Prague, is organised by Property Forum in close cooperation with RICS. The conference has attracted highly respected speakers from the Czech as well as European property markets, some of them being present in Prague for the first time.

Just because technology can do something does it necessarily mean that we want it to? This was just one of the many topics that Czech professionals discussed at the latest RICS event in Prague which analysed the rapidly evolving relationship of property and technology.

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