The opening panel of European ESG Property Forum 2023, which took place last week in Warsaw, has shown that the best stimulator to implement ESG strategies in the property market are always the financial and legal regulations.

Slight growth in logistics and retail space rents, despite no new mall expansion or openings being planned. These are the trends for the beginning of 2023, according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield Forton.

Immofinanz Group recorded strong growth in both rental income and operating results for the first quarter of 2023, which was supported primarily by the full consolidation of S Immo and by property acquisitions. Rental income rose by roughly 83% to €128.4 million. The results of operations and sustainable FFO 1 from the standing investment business more than doubled to €82.5 million and €72.5 million, respectively.

GTC’s adjusted EBITDA was €24 million in Q1 2023 (€26 million in Q1 2022), while net profit amounted to €12 million in Q1 2023 (€15 million in Q1 2022). The decrease mainly resulted from lower gross margin from operations and loss from revaluation, partially offset by lower finance costs and foreign exchange gain.

The investment volume in the first quarter of 2023 fully reflects the clear investor reluctance at the end of last year. According to a recent Arnold Investments market analysis, a real estate transaction volume of around €27 billion was recorded in the European Union. Compared to the same quarter in 2022, this is a decline of 60%.

In Q1 2023, the Czech industrial real estate market hit record numbers and passed the 11 million sqm mark. The five-year average has broken when the total volume of newly completed industrial grew to 217,900 sqm, according to Colliers’ quarterly survey.

After a period of rapid development in the years 2021-22, the Polish PRS market is experiencing a setback in terms of the number of both new projects and concluded deals. The participants of the investment panel during Property Forum’s Living Investment Forum 2023 conference in Warsaw tried to discover the reason for such a state of affairs.

Q1 2023 saw a recovery in the Prague office space market. Growing demand may be met with lower availability of new premium space in the coming years, as only a smaller number of new projects are currently under construction. This may affect the currently stabilized price level of rents. Serviced office centres and ESG-compliant projects are on the rise. These findings come from a quarterly market survey conducted by Colliers.

The period of stagnation and waiting on the Prague residential market is over. Along with the spring came a revival in the Prague housing market. The demand is rising, and interest in buying and renting is also growing, according to the latest Knight Frank report.

The investment panel at Prague Property Forum 2023 focused on investment opportunities and financing. While banks emphasized that they are ready to lend money, perhaps more cautiously, investors talked more about waiting for the right moment when investment opportunities appear. The great potential of the Czech market is mainly in the local money and local investors, which gives the market stability, participants agreed.