Without a doubt, the pandemic has brought many changes for the retail market but many developers see this as a time for trailblazers. Christoph Andexlinger, Chief Operations Officer at SES Spar European Shopping Centers discussed with Property Forum the effects the pandemic had on the company’s operations and shared some details about future plans.

In Immofinanz's Hungarian portfolio, several lease agreements and extensions of almost 21,000 sqm have recently been completed. Thus, most of the company's local office buildings are currently fully leased.

Hungarian investor Diófa Asset Management has appointed new senior officials, including a new CEO, deputy CEO and chairman, the company announced. Following the recently completed acquisition of Diófa, Indotek Group expects the fund manager to secure a substantial market share in Hungary and increase its presence in the CEE region.

Just one month ago, we reported that February 2021 had been the strongest month for the past ten years with regard to the number of transactions in the Hungarian housing market. It now appears that the record was short-lived as there were 15,630 residential property deals nationwide in March according to the latest monthly transaction estimate of real estate group Duna House. The figure is more than 1,000 higher than in February.

Hungarian developer Wing is set to start renovation works on the EuroCenter shopping centre in Budapest in the spring of 2021 with reopening scheduled for the spring of 2022. In addition to the international fashion brands, the shopping centre will offer its future visitors a diverse range of services, a renovated cinema, culinary experiences and a roof garden.

B+N Referencia Zrt. has acquired ISS Group’s interests in Central and Eastern Europe. With an internationally significant acquisition, the Hungarian group became one of the most notable facility management providers in the region. The transaction concerns the main subsidiaries of the ISS Group in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary.

The hunt for logistics properties is intensifying, many investors are looking for strip malls and specialised stores, new and premium office buildings are increasingly leaving obsolete ones behind. Commercial real estate advisor VLK Cresa summarised the last few months on the Hungarian property investment market.

MOL Group announces the acquisition of 100% of Normbenz Slovakia s.r.o. by Slovnaft that includes 16 service stations in Slovakia operated under the Lukoil brand. MOL has also concluded a deal with Marché International AG to buy the company that operates 9 restaurants in Hungary under the Marché brand. The agreements fit the Group’s “Shape Tomorrow” 2030+ updated long-term strategy, which lays special emphasis on the development of consumer services.

Residential rents in Hungary rose slightly in February, but looking at the longer term, this appears to be more stagnation than a substantial turnaround, the joint rent index of the Central Statistical Office (KSH) and real estate portal ingatlan.com shows. The average rent rose 1.1% in Hungary and 0.8% in Budapest month-on-month.

At the end of 2020, there was more than 39 million sqm of modern logistic industrial space in the region. More than one half (53%) of this stock is in Poland, while the Czech Republic with more than 9 million sqm accounts for about 23% of the Central European market. Cushman & Wakefield analysed the trends in the industrial property sector in five Central European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia).