After securing the largest commercial loan in over a decade on the Slovenian real estate market, Bratislava-based developer Corwin has realised the first drawdown for the residential project Kvartet.

In the first year of the pandemic, the construction market of the SEE region as a whole remained in the positive, and further expansion is expected until 2023. The only exception is Bulgaria where a harsh transition is foreseen for 2023 when the 2014-2020 EU programming period ends financially. The massive growth experienced in the years before 2020 is not anticipated to return. around 3% growth is projected for 2021 and 2022, and a 3% drop for 2023. The countries with the largest cumulated growth on the forecast horizon are Croatia and Serbia, according to the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association’s 2021 Summer Construction Forecast Report.

Palača Pošta, a unique high street commercial building in Ljubljana, Slovenia has become available for rent. The owner, Pošta Slovenije, who has been the sole user of the building until now, has retained KF Finance, to act as their exclusive real estate broker for leasing. KF Finance is the leading financial advisory company in the region, with a team of 50 finance professionals in offices in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade, offering clients a comprehensive range of financial advisory services.

Take-up on Ljubljana’s office market reached only 46,000 sqm in 2020, one third less than the previous year. Despite strong demand from potential tenants, there is very limited supply available, according to the Ljubljana office market snapshot prepared by S-Invest.

Swedish furniture group Ikea is set to open its first store in Slovenia in Ljubljana today. To ensure a safe shopping experience and avert long queues in front of the store, Ikea has mandated advanced bookings for in-person shopping in the first weeks following the opening. The number of visitors is capped at 700 with Ikea estimating that they will spend roughly two hours on average browsing around the store.

The industrial segment has stood out as the most resilient sector to the crisis and the markets Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria present a huge opportunity for further growth. Boško Tomašević MRICS, Managing Director SEE at CBRE talked to Property Forum about investment market expectations and shared the company’s expansion plans for the Balkans region.

The total investment volume achieved in 2020 in the SEE region amounted to €766 million representing a 17% decline in transaction volume in comparison to the year before, according to CBRE’s market report summarising H2 2020 on the investment market.

Austrian developer Supernova has laid the foundation stone for a €70 million project aimed at the expansion of the Supernova Ljubljana Rudnik shopping centre in Ljubljana. Upon the completion of the project, Supernova Ljubljana Rudnik will become the biggest shopping centre in Slovenia.

SES Spar European Shopping Centers has opened Aleja Center in Ljubljana on 20 May 2020. The €150 million investment serves as a mixed-use shopping and leisure hotspot. The centre was completed in March, but, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the originally planned opening date had to be postponed. The first shops with focus on local supply opened at the beginning of May, and the entire centre is set into full operation on 20 May. The Planet Lollipop children's adventure world and part of Aleja SKY are scheduled to open at a later date.  

The construction industry seems to have been relatively less affected than some other industries (like tourism) as most large projects continue during the lockdown measures across the region. The Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association has published a COVID-19 update on the construction sectors of Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia.