Study: The Romanian real estate investment market exceeded EUR 585 million in the first 9 months of 2019

The volume of real estate investments in Romania in the first nine months exceeded EUR 585 million, shows the most recent research report of CBRE, global and national leader of the real estate consulting market. The office market attracted more than half of the investments, Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca being the most dynamic cities, with almost 90 percent of the traded volume.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the real estate investment market reached EUR 8.6 billion in the first three quarters, according to CBRE Research data. Poland remained a leader in the investment market at regional level, with a share of about 50 percent of the total, while Romania has a stable share of 7 percent, with growth potential in the coming months.

“The figures for the first nine months show that Romania is the most competitive country in Central and Eastern Europe. For example, in the office sector, the yield (annual return on investment) is 7 percent, while the value of rents is at a level of EUR 18.5 / sqm / month. Romania is attracting more and more attention of new investors, who want to enter the local market, as well as new names on the office space rental market, which makes us confident about the potential of the real estate market in 2020,” explained Daniela Boca , Head of Research, CBRE Romania.

If, during the first nine months, Romania attracted an investment volume of EUR 585 million, of which 60 percent were in Bucharest, 29 percent in Cluj-Napoca and 11 percent in other secondary cities, for the third quarter, the volume of investments it is estimated to increase by 42 percent, being able to reach the threshold of EUR 1 billion if the transactions currently in progress will be signed.

Regarding the traded products, the office market remained in the center of attention, attracting 50 percent of investments, followed by the retail sector with 27 percent and industrial, with 9 percent of the traded volume.

“The office buildings will continue to attract major investments in the next 12-18 months, considering that there are several finalized or developing products on the Romanian market, in the portfolio of some developers whose strategy is the development and rental, followed by a exit. At the same time, we are noticing an increasing interest for the industrial sector, where, for example, its products & lease back products can contribute to transactions in this sector,” said Gijs Klomp, Head of Investment Properties, CBRE Romania.

From the point of view of the buyers profile, the local investors remained the most active during the first nine months, with 33 percent of the total investments, followed by the South African funds, with 30 percent and by the American investors, with 12 percent.

“The entry into the Romanian market of new names in the first nine months, such as White Star, Indotek and Morgan Stanley, sent a very positive message to investors interested in Romania. We expect that in 2020 we will see other companies that will take the first step in Romania and we are pleased to already have discussions in this regard,” added Klomp.

CBRE Romania expanded its local management team this fall by recruiting Gijs Klomp as Head of Investment Properties. Gijs has over 17 years of experience in real estate and has been involved in procurement transactions with a cumulative value of over two billion euros in Central and Eastern Europe.