The beginning of the year was marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which caused various obstacles to the Slovak economy. It pushes inflation up to the highest in 17 years as also the prices of food, housing and energy. Nevertheless, the lifted lockdown measures helped boost retail sales and new office leases surpassed renegotiations for the sixth quarter in a row. Experts also saw a record quarter with substantial take-up and plunging vacancy rates, Cushman & Wakefield Slovakia presents in their new report on the Slovak economy.

YIT Slovakia has announced an international urban planning and architectural competition for the transformation of the area along Viedenská cesta (Vienna Road) in Bratislava into quality housing. The sensitive transformation of the site in the distant neighbourhood of the former "Pečnianský rameno" is to be carried out with an emphasis on ecological forms of housing and with respect for the existing environment. 6 renowned studios from 4 countries were invited to participate in the competition, YIT Slovakia informed.

Penta Real Estate has sold three real estate projects in Bratislava. The buyer is former Penta co-owner Jozef Oravkin, who left the group at the end of 2021 to set up his development and investment company, Penta announced in a press release.

The former bank atrium on the corner of Vysoká Street and 1st May Square in Bratislava has undergone an extensive transformation in recent months. The investment group Proxenta has successfully brought it to completion in just six months. The building with modern apartments in high standard has been built, writes online daily reality.trend.sk.

New laws on spatial planning and construction will replace the nearly half-century-old 1976 Construction Act in Slovakia. The National Council of the Slovak Republic approved them on Wednesday with a large number of changes compared to the original form, along with a related amendment to the Competence Act, reports webnoviny.sk.

Bratislava's iconic Pradiareň 1900 building is now wholly owned by investment group RSJ, which has bought the entire stake of the other co-owner YIT Slovakia. The total value of the transaction is approximately €35 million. RSJ announced the change in ownership structure on its website.

Nearly 100 more apartments for young people are being built in Bratislava's Ružinov district as part of the NUPPU project. The YIT Slovakia development group continues the project's construction with the next stage, Magnolia 2, the company confirmed to Property Forum today. 

Arcadis is changing the ownership and as of April is owned by its current management in the Czech Republic. The new name of the company is now Grinity, the company announced.

As a result of the war in Ukraine, almost all companies are dealing with completely new situations and facing unexpected problems. The experts of the first panel of Bratislava Property Forum 2022 discussed how investment strategies have to adapt to the new situation.

The end of April marks one year since the announcement of the acquisition of the Aupark Bratislava shopping centre.  The actual change in the shareholder structure took place on 27 May 2021, after the financial and investment group Wood & Company bought a stake in Aupark from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW). The acquisition, worth a total of €450 million, has been hailed as the largest real estate transaction in Slovakia's history up to this date. The real estate fund AUP Bratislava, which was established in connection with the transaction, announced the amount of revenues for the year 2021.