Maciej Runkiewicz, CEO of Kajima Poland has talked to Property Forum about the current challenges on the Polish construction market, new supply chains and ESG's impact on the warehousing sector.

The Czech real estate market in 2023 will be driven mainly by inflation, which will also determine this year´s ten real estate market trends. Among them will be high construction costs, pressure for ESG compliance and looking for a balance between savings, spending a responsible investing, says Colliers in its real estate market prediction for this year.

Consumer prices were 24.5% higher on average in December 2022 than a year earlier which is a new record, compared to the last decade. The highest price rises were measured for electricity, gas and other fuels as well as food over the last twelve months. Prices increased by 14.5% on average in 2022 compared to the previous year, Hungarian Central Statistical Office reports. 

Serbia’s real estate market experienced record demand for office, logistics and residential space this year and this growth trend will continue in 2023. Banks will be somewhat stricter in terms of granting loans and financing conditions will tighten but the overall outlook is still positive, according to the speakers of the investment and financing panel of Balkans Property Forum 2022, organised last week in Belgrade.

High inflation is one of the factors that will have a huge impact on budgeting related to leasing office space by tenants in the near future, says Avison Young Poland.

The next few months will show the extent to which the increase in the costs of renting office space and property maintenance will affect further development of the office sector. Higher costs of running a business will force companies to verify their budget plans, says Robert Pastuszka, Director, Office Agency at Avison Young Poland.

High inflation and rising interest rates pose a threat to the upturn in the economy which many expected following the pandemic. Dieter Knittel, Managing Director, Head of CEE at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (pbb) talked to Property Forum about financing trends and shared his expectations for the upcoming period.

Existing income-producing assets with a reasonable capital value per sqm and strong tenants will be a winner for many investors in the upcoming period. Avison Young has published its CEE property investment market report for H1 2022.

With energy prices rising at an unprecedented rate and the system of governmental discounts on utility bills in Hungary significantly changing, working from the office might become a more attractive option even for those that love working only from home. In the coming months, not only employees but employers will also try to reduce their energy use. Energy-efficient office buildings will further increase in value as they will become a more attractive option for tenants. Flex and serviced offices will also see increased demand as they will be able to provide a more financially stable option for tenants with utility costs included in the rental fee.

Today, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank decided to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 50 basis points and approved the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) in an effort to make sure inflation returns to its 2% target over the medium term.