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).

Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality supported B&B Hotels in disposing of a portfolio of two hotels to Primonial REIM, a leading independent real estate asset management group based out of Paris, France.

NIPÜF Group has completed its latest warehouse development in its Pécs industrial park, located in Southern Hungary. A long-term lease agreement had been signed for the facility, which comprises nearly 11,000 square meters. The investment volume exceeded €6.8 million (HUF 2.5 billion). The total area of logistics space developed by NIPÜF nationwide is 168,000 square meters.

Hungarian developer Futureal has completed its first-ever green bond issue as part of the National Bank of Hungary's (MNB) Bond Funding for Growth Scheme (BGS). The company received bids worth HUF 59.92 billion for the bonds, which have a nominal value of HUF 50 billion. Futureal subsequently sold HUF 55 billion (approximately €150 million) of the bonds, for one of the largest issues under the BGS scheme. Futureal Group is currently developing projects with a gross space of more than 1 million sqm in Hungary.