The Bulgarian commercial property market in 2023 will maintain activity around last year's levels. Main buyers are again expected to be local investors with sufficient funds or being able to obtain favourable credit terms. This is what Cushman & Wakefield Forton is forecasting for the period. C&W Forton estimates the total volume of commercial property transactions in 2022 to be just over €270 million. Transactions with traditional market assets – office and retail space – are predominant, while there is also a stir in the industrial property segment

The rising share of domestic investors has kept volumes high in CEE property markets in the last year and this trend will continue. The overall market outlook is quite optimistic as further declines are expected for inflation and construction costs, concluded panellists of Property Forum's recent online event.

The relocation process of manufacturing and business operations to Bulgaria following the geopolitical pressure gives the country a decent chance of attracting foreign investments. Despite the prediction of a recession in 2023, the expectations are for opportunities in some sectors and for investors to focus on high–quality and sustainable product. The trend is outlined by Colliers in their latest country report.

Property investor Globalworth has reported a net loss of €16.1 million in 2022 compared to a profit of €47.5 million in 2021, while the value of its commercial portfolio remained effectively unchanged at €3.2 billion. 

Property Forum is excited to announce that the 2023 edition of “The 50 most influential people on Romania’s real estate market” will be published on May 4th during our Spring Networking Party in Bucharest, on the day of our first-ever Romania ESG Forum.

Romania has one of the lowest volumes of housing loans as a share of GDP, being for instance six times lower than Poland in absolute terms, according to a study published by Romanian developer STC Partners. 

Continuously rising housing prices across Croatia, additionally amplified by the country’s recent entry into Eurozone and the Schengen area, have provoked discussions about affordable housing and models that can be applied in Croatia, based on the experience of other countries in the CEE region. Erste Group Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in CEE, became a potential forerunner in setting up an affordable housing concept in Croatia, however, the project is yet to commence and still strongly depends on cooperation with local governments, which are often lacking flexibility or avoiding a tighter and highly publicized joint ventures with the private sector.

Romanian property holding Meta Estate Trust says it recorded a gross profit of 7.2 million lei (€1.5 million) during 2022, which was the first full financial year since the launch of the company. Its total revenues amounted to 21.7 million (€4.4 million), while the assets reached 98.6 million lei (€20 million). 

Romanian developer One United Properties says its consolidated turnover rose by 4% year-on-year to €235.4 million in 2022, while its gross profit fell 5% to €116.2 million over higher investment activity. 

While the costs of construction materials in Romania rose during 2022, impacting the ability of developers to self-finance their projects, the current outlook is not pointing towards an improvement of this situation this year, according to an analysis by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association (EECFA).