In the Q2 of 2022, the Slovak economy was primarily marked by flaming inflation that puts raw materials costs at new heights. On the other hand, in the same period of this year, the Slovak industry recovered. This was mainly due to the automotive industry which continues to be the driving force of Slovakia’s economy. The office market went through a major change, as most of the stock was reclassified by the Bratislava Research Forum. And in retail, there were fewer projects under construction due to consistently growing construction materials costs and delivery length, the Cushman & Wakefield presents in their new Marketbeat report on the Slovak economy.

Following the example of the Czech Republic and other European countries, the Bratislava Research Forum is starting the reclassification of office buildings in Bratislava as of Q2 2022.

A record-breaking volume of investments in commercial real estate in Slovakia was realized in the first half of the year 2022. Total investments exceeded €600 million. The record volume is largely due to the transfer of part of Penta´s original portfolio to the new developer Alto Real Estate. It influences the statistics so the office buildings gained a position of the dominant segment with around 70% share of all investments. The share of domestic capital is representing almost 70% of the total volume of transactions. Within the context of rising inflation and increasing interest rates, analysts consider yields to be bottoming out without space for further compression. Slovakia continues to maintain its reputation as a safe investment location with competitive yields, according to Cushman & Wakefield's latest report.

A new residential area is to be built on the site of the former Matador enamel factory in Bratislava. Development company Oxio promises to build 2,300 flats including infrastructure on an area of 10 hectares. The part called Smaltovna already has a building permit, the developer announced.

Austrian developer Karimpol Group has finished the first stage of the Squarebizz Bory project in Bratislava, which comprises eco-friendly retail storage, service and showroom space within an area of 15,000 sqm. The developer also announced the first tenants who have signed contracts already and the launching of the second phase.

Development company Antracit is launching a series of projects in several cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is preparing a mixed-use rental project in Ostrava, an office and apartment project and a rental project in Pilsen. A mixed-use rental project is also being prepared in Žilina and another rental project in an industrial area in Prešov, the company announced. 

Atrium has sold the shopping mall Optima in Košice, Slovakia. The company wants to focus on its core markets, Warsaw and Prague from now.

The tallest building in Slovakia, Eurovea Tower is rising in Bratislava by the Danube. With the completion of the 38th floor, the tower has reached 125 metres, the milestone by which it has become the highest building in the country already and has 40 metres still to come. By the end of 2022, Eurovea will be with the 47 floors and 168 metres the 1st skyscraper in the country, developer JTRE announced.

Austrian real estate group Supernova has added four MAX shopping malls to its portfolio of eleven OBI supermarkets in Slovakia. The transaction, without mentioning the price, was reported by the news website reality.trend.sk.

Fidurock, the Czech/Dutch company that owns Retail Park Trnava, has started to build phase II of the project, which is located in Western Slovakia, 44 km northeast of Bratislava. The extension of this retail park is planned to be completed by the end of this year.