Property investments in Romania totaled €919.4 million during 2021, with Austrian investment dominating the rank among foreign players closing deals on the local market. Last year, Austrian investors bought office and retail spaces with a combined value of €323 million. Czech and Hungarian property players had shares of €173 million and €150 million, respectively, according to a report by real estate consultancy Fortim, a member of BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance. 

Property developer Anchor Grup has secured a financing volume of €80 million from Banca Transilvania that will be used to refinance the retail and office segments of the company. 

There is increased demand for all categories of property assets in Romania, with office and industrial set to continue their growth streak this year. Property Forum talked to Victor Constantinescu, Managing Partner of Kinstellar’s Bucharest office and Co-Head of the firm-wide Real Estate practice, about the impact of the pandemic on Romania’s real estate market and how the country’s property investment potential can be harnessed in the next years.

Delivery firm Cargus has started operations last September in a warehouse covering 15,000 sqm in CTPark Bucharest that will accommodate fulfillment demand of e-commerce companies. 

As Romania has eliminated all pandemic restrictions earlier this week, companies plan to increase the number of employees returning to the office in the near future. 

Polish developer Scallier has obtained the BREEAM certificate at the Excellent level for its retail park that was opened last November in Focșani. 

Futureal-Cordia-HelloParks Group and its employees have made a number of commitments to help refugees from Ukraine.

The average asking price for apartments in Romania gained 0.8% in February to €1,609 per sqm compared to the same period of last year. Over the past 12 months, the average increase of prices stood at 18.5%, according to property classifieds platform Imobiliare.ro. 

One United Properties continues to develop its Bucharest-based office portfolio which has reached an estimated value of almost €400 million. Property Forum spoke with Mihai Păduroiu, CEO of the Office Division of One United Properties, about the transformation in the office market triggered by the pandemic and the drivers of demand going forward.

Globalworth’s adjusted normalised EBITDA decreased by 8.1% to €130.2 million in 2021, compared to €141.6 million in 2020, due to a lower net operating income. Net profit significantly improved to €47.5 million (2020: net loss of €46.8 million) due to marginal revaluation losses of €5.7 million in 2021 compared to the €116.2 million revaluation losses in 2020. The company published its unaudited financial results for 2021