As development activity has slowed down, the focus is shifting to managing the existing stock across the whole commercial real estate market. Owners and other stakeholders have to adapt rapidly to serve changing demand from occupiers, said Benjamin Perez Ellischewitz MRICS, Principal at Avison Young in Hungary, while answering Property Forum’s questions at Mipim in Cannes.

Vlad Stanislav, Managing Director Romania at iO Partners, talked to Property Forum about the company’s expansion in the energy and infrastructure line of services and the higher yield environment in Romania’s property sector compared to other markets in CEE.

Anna Wojciechowska, Head of ESG at Robyg, talked to Property Forum about the implementation of the principles of sustainability in the Polish residential market and the factors, that will affect the ESG-related activities in the following years.

Charles Boudet, CEO of iO Partners, spoke to Property Forum about the ongoing expansion plans of the real estate consultancy in the region and the trend of foreign investors returning to their core markets.

Latest technological innovations may cut time and cost significantly in preparing real estate projects. Property Forum asked Béla Markovich, CEO of construction giant Mapei’s Hungarian subsidiary about the ways the company uses VR and AI to reach higher efficiency and about R+D activity to produce eco-friendly construction materials.

Cosmin-Savu Cristescu, Managing Director of Romanian developer Redport Capital, spoke with Property Forum about the start of a new mixed-use investment of  €150 million in northern Bucharest and the continuation of the residential growth trend that has been recorded since 2023.

Occupiers are increasingly forced to adjust to rapidly changing demands from employees. They also have to manage rising costs and meet environmental demands. Property Forum asked James Bartolo, Partner, Head of Multi-Market Tenant Representation EMEA at Knight Frank about the incentives for office workers and the ways companies coop with these tasks.

Real estate development is a long-term venture where the end results (including profitability) are often unpredictable, especially in the current challenging global environment. Property Forum talked to Norbert Schőmer MRICS, Country Director at Atenor Hungary and the recently appointed Chairman of RICS in Hungary, covering the topics of ESG, changes in the office market, affordable housing and education, among others. He also provided an update on Atenor’s ongoing projects in Hungary and shared his priorities as RICS Chairman.

John Palmer, Partner Associate, Real Estate Advisory at Deloitte Poland, talked to Property Forum about the rapidly changing landscape of the land development market in Poland and its current attractiveness to foreign investors.

Jarosław Fiutowski, Member of the Board responsible for ESG strategy and innovation at Ghelamco Poland, talked to Property Forum about the renewable energy in office buildings,  the awareness of ESG issues among tenants and the related stance of Western investment funds.