The deliveries of modern retail space in Romania are expected to increase by 34% this year compared to 2018, to 140,000 square meters. Sibiu, Timisoara and Bucharest will attract a 70% share of these deliveries, according to a report by real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Last year, new retail projects with a cumulative area of about 104,000 sqm were delivered in Romania, with no new retail project being completed in Bucharest.

In 2019, the most active developers will be NEPI Rockcastle, Iulius Group and Prime Kapital, three of the most important developers and owners of commercial spaces on the local market. The Festival Centrum shopping center and the extension of Shopping City Sibiu, both carried out by NEPI, will be delivered in Sibiu, the Iulius Mall project will be expanded in Timisoara, while the extensions of the Colosseum Retail Park and Veranda Mall projects are expected in Bucharest.

New modern retail spaces will also be delivered in Zalau, where the Zalau Value Center project is due to be inaugurated, and also in Satu Mare and Buzau, where two existing projects will be extended.

The total area of all retail projects (shopping centers, retail parks and commercial galleries) in Romania, at the end of 2018, was 3.71 million sqm, a third of which (1.2 million sqm) was located in Bucharest. Notably, the average vacancy rate for shopping centers in Bucharest declined from 3% to 2% over the past year, according to the Bucharest Retail Market and Romania Retail Regional Cities by C&W Echinox.

editor@romania-insider.com

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