The overall investment volumes on the Romanian commercial real estate market reached EUR 404 million in the first half of this year, up 18% over the same period of 2017, according to real estate consultancy company Colliers International.

The EUR 1 billion level may be exceeded this year, the firm believes. The biggest transactions were concluded in Bucharest on the office and retail segments, namely the sale of Oregon Park to Lion’s Head, the first phase of the Campus 6 project bought by CA Immo, Militari Shopping Center bought by the Prime Kapital/MAS REI partnership.

The average deal size also increased and consultants expect higher-value transactions as local investors also have more capital to invest in real estate. The office market alone could top EUR 0.5 billion this year.

Activity on the office market continued to be strong in the first half, with new deliveries of 33,000 sqm in Bucharest and about 75,000 sqm in Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca. The new demand for office space in Bucharest reached 84,000 sqm in the first half, slightly higher than last year. More than half of the new leases were signed in central areas of the capital. The total take-up of office space reached 150,000 sqm in Bucharest, with IT&C, energy and industrial, and co-working spaces generating most of the demand.

Colliers: Attention of real estate investors in Romania starts turning to regional cities

editor@romania-insider.com