Commercial real estate transactions with a total volume of €1.7 bn took place in Central European markets in the first half of 2013, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Commercial real estate transactions with a total volume of €1.7 bn took place in Central European markets in the first half of 2013, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The total volume from 52 completed transactions was 24% up on the same period last year when 32 completed deals were recorded.
The core Central European markets of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania maintained momentum with €631 mln invested in Q2 this year, ahead of the same period last year.
Poland continues to lead the region, attracting almost 72% of investment during Q2 with both the Czech Republic and Slovakia each only attracting close to €100 mln. Romania and Hungary experienced no significant investment deals in the last quarter, although investment into Hungary in Q1 2013 was relatively high at €159 mln.
Charles Taylor, partner at Cushman & Wakefield, said: 'Whilst activity in the first half of 2013 was somewhat predictable, with Poland dominating, the real interest is in the coming six months with several significant transactions still to be closed and a number of large assets offered in the marketplace. We expect positive news to emerge shortly regarding closed transactions in the Czech Republic and possibly Hungary too.'
Commenting on the prospects for the remainder of the year, Taylor added: 'We expect to exceed last year’s total volume of €3.8 bn given the pipeline of transactions, availability of quality investment product and continued investor interest in the region.'
