Investment transactions in Romania’s commercial property market totaled €120 million in Q1 2023, which was almost double compared to the same period of last year. The deal volume was driven by industrial and office projects, according to a Colliers report.

MLP Group has just launched a project to expand the MLP Bucharest West logistics park. The new building of about 16,000 sqm, being developed on a speculative basis, is scheduled for completion by the year’s end.

Andreea Păun, Managing Partner of Griffes, spoke with Property Forum about the outlook of rents and new office developments in Bucharest as well as the demand trends. This year, Griffes aims to close 10% more leasing deals with a combined value of more than €20 million.

Lion Capital, a public financial investment company, has purchased a land plot of 11 hectares in western Constanța in a deal valued at more than €10 million.

Polish retail developer Scallier has inaugurated a new retail park in Vaslui, spanning 10,000 sqm. This is Scallier’s fifth retail park in Romania and its total footprint in the country has climbed to 40,000 sqm of leasable space.

The massive delays in the issuance of permits for new real estate projects in Bucharest will put upward pressure on office rents, according to a report by Griffes

A growing number of office developers in Romania are beginning to deliver to tenants unequipped, ”cold shell” space without fixtures and finishes. Meanwhile, tenants are investing at least €‎30 per sqm of their development budget for demolition and reconfiguration to adapt the space to specific needs and strategic plans, according to Colliers' data. 

STC Partners has reached a 50% sale rate for the first phase of its residential project Quartier Azuga, which is under development in Bucharest. 

Logistics operators accounted for approximately 50% of the Q1 2023 demand for industrial spaces in Romania which totaled 330,000 sqm, up 10% year-on-year, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Bucharest accounted for 75% of the total office space that was leased across major Romanian cities in Q1 2023 according to a study by Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance.