Every second investor expects increase in activity in CEE: report

After a year of pandemic experience, half of CEE real estate investors expect an improvement in transaction activity this year, according to the CBRE Investors Intentions Survey. Poland and the Czech Republic will return to the pre-pandemic state as quickly as possible. Warehouse, logistics, and office sectors remain the preferred sectors, while the residential sector is also growing rapidly, becoming one of the most desirable investment areas. The most sought-after investments are those of the core type, i.e. stable and with long-term lease agreements, which indicates great caution. The focus on tenants continues.

“A large dose of investor optimism and the implementation of vaccination programs throughout Europe allow us to forecast that the value of investments in Central and Eastern Europe in 2021 will maintain the level of last year or even record a slight increase. The market is still cautious, transactions more often concern products with stable, long-term returns on investment, but some investors are also looking for opportunities that are mainly sought for in the hotel and retail real estate. The CEE region and Germany are currently attracting the most attention in the whole of Europe, and Warsaw is at the top of the list of the most interesting capitals in our region for investors. This is due both to the availability of high-quality modern facilities and high demand among tenants. So we can expect that 2021 and the following years will be very positive for the market,” Joanna Mroczek, head of the market research and marketing departments in Poland and the CEE region at CBRE, said.

In terms of the most popular sectors, investors in the CEE region agree. The most popular sector is the warehouse sector, which is selected by a third of respondents. The offices indicated by 22 percent of investors remain an attractive facility. The same percentage prefer family residential buildings. Commercial (8 percent) and hotel (6 percent) buildings were off the podium.

(WBJ)