CEE real estate deal volume in 2014 approaching record levels – C&W

Real estate investment volume reached €2.9 billion in Q4 in core CEE countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary), a 61 percent increase compared to Q3, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Over the course of 2014, the deal volume in the core CEE countries amounted to €7.3 billion, 41 percent more than the €5.2 billion recorded in 2013 and approaching the 2007 record-high level of €9.3 billion. “Central Europe has become an established part of any pan-European investment strategy. Warsaw has been the gateway for this but activity is clearly growing rapidly in secondary cities and across all CE countries,” said James Chapman, partner and head of CE Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield. In Poland alone, €1.26 billion worth of RE deals were made in Q4, and €3.13 billion in 2014, improving slightly on the 2013 score. The office sector recorded the highest investment activity in Poland since 2006 while the industrial sector turned over the highest-ever transaction volume on the Polish industrial investment market.