Romania, Second In CEE By Real Estate Deals In 1H ’08

Poland ranks first with real estate deals worth EUR907 million in the first half of the year, Hungary reached only EUR15 million in real estate deals in the second quarter and a total EUR135 million in the first six months of the year, the Czech Republic registered real estate deals worth EUR235 million, while Bulgaria reached only EUR746 million.

Realtor Atisreal said real estate deals in Romania totaled EUR912 million in the first half of the year, of which EUR605 million alone were closed in capital city Bucharest.

At European level, the value of real estate deals lowered in the second quarter of 2008, to EUR25.6 billion, which has not been seen since 2003, while Eastern Europe also saw a slowdown, namely 6.5% in the second quarter of the year, compared with the same period in 2007, according to data offered by Cushman.

Real estate markets in Great Britain, Germany and France also saw significant deceases, namely 60%, 55% and 51%, respectively, while small realty markets, like Greece, Ireland, Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg also faced a downward trend.

Romania currently has yields ranging from 6.25% to 6.5% for Class A office spaces, and 7 to 7.5% for Class B office spaces, while retail projects saw yields ranging from 6.25% to 6.5% in Bucharest, and 7.25 to 7.5% outside Bucharest.

Cushman & Wakefield estimate rents in Europe will grow 3-4% for prime properties in 2008 and 1-2% in 2009.