External investors from the European, American and Asian markets have been showing unwavering interest in the real estate market in Central and Eastern Europe for the past few years now. The region remains attractive for entities looking for opportunities to diversify their capital. Experts at BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland carried out an analysis of the current situation and the changes that had occurred in the past five years in four countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary. In undertaking the assessment they moved beyond the commercial real estate market and collaborated with a range of partners: BNP Paribas Bank Polska, the act legal law firm, the recruitment services market leader HAYS, and Robertson, BNP Paribas Real Estate’s business partner in Hungary.
The dynamic growth that has taken place over the past five years reinforced the positive perception of the commercial real estate market in Central and Eastern Europe amongst investors. Compared with the mature markets in Western Europe, cap rates in our part of Europe are significantly higher. At the same time, the region has good availability of top quality schemes and highly skilled workforce
Piotr Krawczyński, Head of Capital Markets, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland
In addition to the real estate market data, we attempted to present all significant changes that had occurred in the region’s leading cities over the past five years. The comparison enabled us to demonstrate how rapidly the markets across Central and Eastern Europe have been growing, which is something that foreign customers frequently ask about as they are becoming increasingly interested in our region’s potential
Patrycja Dzikowska, Head of Research and Consultancy, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland.
These trends are corroborated by the large number of completed and pipeline projects. We can see a growing interest in projects that shape the urban fabric and combine different functions (office, retail and hotel), often utilizing historic parts of the cities in which they are developed. The majority of investors are also looking for locations for warehouse projects, which stems from the dynamic development of the logistics sector
Michał Wielhorski, Managing Partner and leader of the real estate practice area in the Warsaw office at act legal (BSWW)
Investor activity is particularly evident in the hotel sector, with sites suitable for hotel developments attracting great interest over the past year. International hotel chains are becoming active on those CEE markets on which they had not been present until recently, where they are frequently not only leasing but also buying properties. New brands and hotel concepts entered the Polish market this year. There are also investors interested in creating hostel chains well-thought-out in terms of location and breaking away from the not very positive hostel stereotype
Marek Wojnar, Managing Partner and leader of the real estate practice area in the Warsaw office at act legal (BSWW)
In conclusion, the multitude of investment products and the favourable economic conditions prevailing in the CEE region mean that, despite the expected slowdown on the European market, we remain optimistic about the future developments in our region
Patrycja Dzikowska, Head of Research and Consultancy, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland.