The former Stock Exchange Palace, a historic heritage building located in the centre of Bucharest, has entered into a full process of commercial redevelopment.

Land in Bucharest continued to attract the interest of real estate developers this year, considering that in the first nine months of 2018, lots with a cumulated surface of over 60 hectares on which around 8,000 dwellings, 180,000 square meters of offices as well as commercial spaces can be developed, according to an analysis of Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Portland Trust has acquired a 16,000 sqm plot of land on Jiului street near Bucurestii Noi Boulevard. The transaction price is estimated at about €5-6 million, according to zf.ro.

Belgian entrepreneur Yves Weerts has completed the construction of the 73-meter-tall Unirii View, the tallest office building in the Romanian capital, following an investment of €33 million.

Real estate professionals surveyed by the RICS in Q2 2018 now believe that the Czech investment market has reached the peak of the current cycle while the Hungarian and Polish markets are also close to peaking. Nevertheless, market sentiment is still positive on both the occupier and investment market in all CEE countries monitored by the RICS Commercial Property Monitor, including Croatia and Romania.

Globalworth released its interim report and unaudited consolidated financial results for H1 2018. The company continued to expand heavily in its core markets, Poland and Romania.

Immofinanz has renounced its plans for the construction of a Stop Shop retail park in Braşov citing the lengthy process of obtaining a construction permit. The developer is considering selling the land.

CIT Group, a Romanian retailer specialised in IT equipment, has acquired the Nokia building in Timișoara for €6.2 million which marks the company’s entry into the real estate business. The property will be managed by CIT’s Imobiliare division.

About 10 years ago, Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy would mark the peak of the global financial crisis and would be followed by a deep recession in several parts of the world, including Romania. However, Romania has come a long way in the last decade, with the economy seeing some radical transformations, as well as in real estate; the real estate consultancy company Colliers International Romania sees the next 10 years offering an attractive risk/reward profile.

The office stock in the major regional cities of Romania - Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi and Brasov – has doubled over the past five years and will continue to grow at an accelerated pace, being expected to exceed the 1 million sqm threshold in 2019, according to the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox Office Market Regional Cities study.