Real estate activity during the first half of 2017 was very dynamic in Bucharest as well as throughout Romania. New deliveries, extensions and transactions have led to considerable growth in the main sectors – industrial, retail, office and investment. According to Colliers International, the upward trend will continue for the remainder of the year and will be doubled by new demands.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank provided an investment facility of €63 million to CBRE Property Fund Central and Eastern Europe (CBRE PFCEE), an investment fund focusing on retail assets in Poland and Slovakia, managed by CBRE Global Investors. CBRE PFCEE will use the proceeds for the refinancing of the shopping centre “Wars Sawa Junior” in Warsaw. The transaction closed in August 2017. pbb acted as arranger and sole lender under the facility. 

Polish hotel group Orbis, the CEE partner of French group AccorHotels, has signed a management contract with local company Constructii Erbasu S.A. for an ibis Styles hotel in the northern part Bucharest.

AFI Europe Romania published its Q2 and H1 2017 financial results, generating a Net Operating Income (NOI) from its income producing assets in Romania of €12.5 million in Q2 and close to €25 million in H1, representing respectively 10.4% and 11.5% higher results compared to the same periods in 2016.

According to CEO Thomas Kurzmann the first half of 2017 was dedicated to advance planning and permitting on development pipeline projects as well as acquisition of enew office locations in the fastest growing office markets of Budapest, Bucharest and Sofia. GTC published its financial results for H1 2017.

The new office and retail scheme located at Wronia 31 has as of 1 July joined the portfolio of properties managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland. The property with the total leasable area of approx. 16,000 sqm is located in Wola’s heart in the direct vicinity of Plac Europejski. Ghelamco is the investor and developer responsible for the scheme.

1.72 million sqm of industrial space was leased in Poland in H1 2017 which is the best result in market history. Net take-up totalled 1.3 million sqm which is the third best result in Europe. Total demand is likely to be 3 million sqm by the end of 2017.JLL summarised H1 2017 on Poland's industrial market.

High demand for new premises and steady new supply are pushing the Prague office market vacancy rate down. According to JLL’s latest report, the vacancy rate currently stands at 8.6 %, being one of the lowest levels in the history of the market.

During the first half of 2017 demand and supply of modern retail space in Bulgaria have been aligning with each other, according to a new research by Colliers International. During the period, modern shopping centers retail space supply balanced with demand by keeping its previous levels of 791,760 sqm in the country and 406,660 sqm in Sofia. Together with this for a few periods now, retail space absorption has been steadily going up. During the last half-year period, it recorded an 11% increase, providing for demand - supply balance. 

The Slovak investment volume reached only €154 million in H1 2017. A number of transactions, across all sectors currently in various stages of the transaction process are estimated to be worth ca. €350 million and should fall into H2 2017, JLL reports.