Czech bounceback drives record Q3 investment in CEE - CBRE

Investment in CEE real estate achieved a record €2.3 bn volume in the third quarter of 2015 on the back of a 14% quarterly increase, research by CBRE has found.

Retail has overtaken offices as the largest sector in 2015 to date, accounting for 41% of total investment volume. In 2014 offices took a 44% share of the total input.

More than two-thirds of retail transactions were Grade A, located either in a capital city or in a large regional city.

The star in the region was the Czech Republic, which recorded a year-on-year increase of 130%. Its performance was fuelled by a number of several high-profile transactions, including the Palladium shopping centre in Prague and the RPG Byty residential portfolio.

At the other end of the scale, Russia registered a 13% decrease in investment volume year-on-year, although top-tier office products are still seen as a safe bet, with only marginal differences from previous years.

Valentin Gavrilov, Director of Research, ?BRE in Russia, argued that assets such as BP Aurora Park, SEC Atrium, and SEC Columbus were still generating interest and the current statistics did not reflect real investor activity.

‘These figures should not be perceived as the proof of investors’ pessimism,’ he said. ‘It is worth mentioning that investment volumes are growing for the third quarter in a row. And there is a number of rather large transactions in pipeline, which, if closed, will generate significant positive contribution in the yearly investment statistics.’

Poland has seen a 15% fall in volume compared to last year, but with a strong pipeline of deals due to close in Q4 2015 CBRE says the country remains attractive to investors.

Other markets in the region, including Romania and Slovakia, are also experiencing a slowdown in investment deals, with double-digit decreases compared to 2014.