OFFICE
The lack of office space deliveries in Bucharest forces companies to plan future lease contracts way in advance, according to an iO Partners study. Very few projects in the Romanian capital are expected to be delivered in the next two years: only 15,500 sqm in 2024 and 8,000 sqm in 2025. Developers have been discouraged from starting new projects due to limited demand, high construction costs, and the office space vacancy rate (14.3% at the end of 2023) the study found.
DEALS
The number of real estate deals (including houses, lands and apartments) in Romania stood at 43,601 in May 2024, lower by 13,598 than in the same period a year ago, according to the National Agency for Cadastre (ANCPI). Bucharest ranks at the top of the cities with the most houses and apartments traded in May 2024, with 3,376 units, followed by Timiș with 702 units, Brasov with 653 units, and Cluj with 618 units.
INVESTMENT
-In Q1 2024, net investments in Romania’s economy stood at RON34.6 billion, up 6.7% on an annual basis with new construction works accounting for 53.3% and purchases of machinery (including transport vehicles) for 28.2%, the National Institute of Statistics data showed.
-Forty Management, a Romanian developer of real estate projects with mixed destination and green urban reconversion, has announced that Lagoon Park Bucharest – Europe’s first Public Access Lagoon (PAL) project, will open on June 12, following an investment of 33 million euros. PAL projects offer public access for an entrance fee, providing visitors with a delightful experience centered around a large lagoon.
RETAIL
French-headquartered home improvement and gardening retailer Leroy Merlin has completed the relocation of Craiova store, which will be opened on June 19 in the same shopping center Electroputere Park, to a 14,750-sqm space, 16% bigger than the previous location.
