In Romania, the number of transactions increased and the average value remained at around 25.5 million Euros. According to the report, Bucharest attracted more than 25% of the value of transactions, below the level of the same period last year, when it attracted 48% of the volume of investments, which shows that the liquidity in the secondary cities increased significantly.
The largest transactions were recorded in the retail segment (70%), while industrial projects attracted 13%, offices - 11% and hotels - 6%.
The largest transaction registered in the first half was the acquisition of 50% of the Iulius Group portfolio (Iulius Mall Cluj-Napoca, Iulius Mall Iasi, Iulius Mall Timisoara and Iulius Mall Suceava and three office buildings) by the South African group Atterbury. This is the first acquisition of the fund in Romania.
On the office segment, the most notable acquisition was ART BC 7 by HILI Proporties from a Romanian entrepreneur for 30 million Euros.
Globalworth made the most significant transaction in the industrial market in the first half by acquiring Renault Warehouse Oarja for around 42 million Euros. The analyzed period marked the entry of new names on the local market, either through the acquisition of regional platforms or individual projects. Apart from Atterbury, which has already invested in the region in Serbia, other new names are U City Public in Thailand and Hili Properties in Malta.
"Market fundamentals remain robust, and economic forecasts are positive. Romania will most likely remain the performer of the European Union in terms of GDP growth, with a forecast of 5.7%, in addition we see a high demand from tenants on all market segments, which is close to the record levels of 2016. The availability of quality products is on the rise, and yield differences between Romania and Poland or the Czech Republic remain significant", the CEE Investment Market report said.
For Romania, JLL's predictions indicate that the EUR 1 billion threshold is exceeded. The volume of real estate transactions in Central and Eastern Europe increased by 10% in the first half of this year to 5.6 billion Euros, with Romania accounting for 9% of the total volume, according to the report. The Czech Republic ranks first, with 37% of the total volume, which dethroned Poland, the traditional leader of the Central and Eastern European investment market.
Poland attracted 29% of the traded amount and Hungary 13%. According to JLL consultations, estimates for the region remain optimistic given the ongoing projects, so the market could reach 13 billion Euros, which would mark a new record after the figure of 2016 when it was 12, 56 million Euros. JLL estimated earlier this year that the Romanian market recorded last year real estate transactions of about 900 million Euros, up 35% from 2015. (source: profit.ro)
