The commercialization of Gdańsk’s Galeria Metropolia, which is scheduled to open on 22-23 October, is nearing completion. Fourteen new tenants include fashion stores, cafés and services. Cushman & Wakefield  acted as the agent on the lease agreements.

Prologis has signed two lease agreements with Sony DADC, a disc and digital solution provider for the entertainment, education and information industries, totalling 20,450 square metres at Prologis Park Pilsen-Štěnovice.

M7 Real Estate, a pan-European investor and asset manager, has raised its first Central European fund. M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I (M7 CEREF I) has received investor commitments from a number of family office and high net worth individuals totalling over €35 million to be deployed in the region. Following this initial raise, M7 CEREF I has acquired Oregon House in Prague. 

Central and Eastern European housing markets are over the crisis and prices have once again begun to rise. The general upswing, observed on European housing markets, is supported by a number of factors. Following the economic crisis, GDP has begun to grow once again in most countries and the interest environment is also favourable to borrowing. These both contribute to a recovery in housing market demand, which may then materialise in higher prices. In the case of housing markets in the Central and Eastern European region, significant differences in price dynamics may be observed. Hungary stands out from the field, where a highly significant price rise has been observed in the past two years with the prices of second-hand homes having grown by 29 percent. We take a look at Central and Eastern European housing markets.

HB Reavis’ Central Europe Real Estate Fund (CEREIF) has sold its retail asset, Aupark Piestany in Slovakia, to New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) for €39.5 million. The shopping centre, totalling 10,000 sqm of GLA and 380 parking spaces, is home to brands such as CCC Shoes, Mango, Orsay and 

L1 building, belonging to the second phase of Brasov’s Coresi Business Park, with an area of 8,300 sqm, was delivered in September 2016. There are ongoing construction works on the second new building, N1, with 8,500 sqm, planned for delivery in Q2 of 2017. Coresi Business Park now totals over 30,000 sqm of a class office space and aims to reach 100,000 sqm in the coming years.

HB Reavis has selected JLL as the property manager of West Station I in Warsaw. JLL will be responsible for maintaining relations with tenants and supervising the technical, operational and administrative aspects of the building.

According to the latest report by JLL, High Street Retail in Prague 2016/2017, the Czech capital is the most attractive destination for expansion of international retailers in CEE and is being considered as the gate when entering this region. Demand for quality space on Prague’s high streets, Pařížská and Na Příkopě, is outstripping supply which is reflected in the current rent rate of up to €190/sqm/month for a notional unit of 100 sqm in a prime location.

In Q3 2016, industrial space totalling 60,200 sqm was added to the Czech Republic’s industrial property market and there was 474,800 sqm of storage and industrial space under construction at the end of the quarter. The Industrial Research Forum has announced its preliminary industrial market figures for Q3 2016.

Inforsys, a business process outsourcing operator in Poland, is expanding its offer of comprehensive logistics services under a lease agreement with Panattoni Europe that will continue until July 2020. Inforsys will take up 10,000 sqm of warehouse space dedicated to e-commerce companies with an option to extend the lease by another 10,000 sqm. Inforsys will process orders in the facilities which will also be used as a second mass printing and envelope stuffing location in addition to the Radzymin operational centre. Cushman & Wakefield acted as the agent on the transaction.