Hungary saw an impressive 35 per cent increase in commercial real estate investment in the first half of this year, according to research published by property consulting firm CBRE.
Both Hungary and the Czech Republic were able to benefit from the challenge that a number of investors had in finding the type of asset they were looking for in Poland.
The lack of available supply had a positive impact on neighbouring countries with Hungary and the Czech Republic both able to offer more attractive yields to investors in the current market.
Referring to the entire region, the CBRE report stated that strong first-half results drove commercial real estate volumes in Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) to €2.5bn. This figure represents an increase of 15 per cent over the same period last year.
The office sector led Central Europe investment with a 42 per cent rise in volume in the second quarter.
Cushman & Wakefield stated that this development reflects investors’confidence in the quality of best-in-class assets and prime locations against new supply in less attractive ones.
The largest transaction in the office sector (and the largest one in the Central European region) was the sale of City Tower skyscraper in Prague 4 to PPF.
The largest retail investment transaction in the second quarter was ING’s sale of its remaining 50 per cent share in Allee shopping centre in Budapest for €95 million.
Other noteworthy deals included Meyer Bergman’s purchase of Fashion Arena in Prague, and CBRE Global Investors’purchase of Galeria Mazovia shopping centre in Plock, Poland.
Cushman & Wakefield predicts the retail sector will be very active in H2 across the region.
