Going green to get the gold
By Ovidiu Nicolae Posirca, Contributing Editor
Download BR’s Real Estate Guide 2021 HERE
The European Union (EU) could set the global standard for regulating sustainable investing as it aims to become carbon-neutral by 2050. But this isn’t news to real estate players. Companies in this industry have been constantly competing to deliver greener and greener projects that could consume fewer resources and keep costs in check in the long term. Without the badge of sustainability for their buildings, developers might find it harder to attract quality tenants and get bank loans in the near future.
The current stock of buildings is generating around 40 percent of the EU’s total energy consumption and some 36 percent of its carbon emissions. Already, new residential projects being developed in Romania have to comply with the tight regulation of near-zero energy buildings (NZEB).
Sustainable development doesn’t come cheap. For Romanians, green apartments will be more expensive, while on the commercial property market, developers could command higher prices due to costlier technologies. The topic of sustainable investment is covered extensively in this year’s issue of Business Review’s Real Estate Guide. In last year’s edition, I was pointing out that we had to “adapt or else,” and the health crisis has already shown us that we could be using our current building stock more efficiently.
Developers have already started to come up with solutions to accommodate Romanians’ changing perspectives on work, shopping, and leisure. Setting the ambitious goal of turning Bucharest or another regional city into a green investment hub would go hand in hand with the EU’s sustainability ambitions. Property projects with green certifications have already been open across the country and investment flows will continue in the coming years. The real estate sector could be one of the engines that turn sustainability into a mainstream topic as it permeates through numerous layers of the economy.
The EUR 30 billion that Romania is aiming to get through the Recovery and Resilience Facility could be a booster for the country’s complex efforts to make its economy greener while improving living conditions for as many people as possible.
In this issue:
FUTURE
4 Romania’s strong economic recovery to fuel new property investments
8 EU economic path points to consistent recovery in 2021
MARKET
12 Office players preparing for hybrid future of work
14 Fulga Dinu: IMMOFINANZ aims to expand myhive office concept, retail portfolio
16 Retail growth driven by smaller formats in regional markets
18 Industrial and logistics investments flock to key locations
20 Residential sector facing pricing constraints
24 Yitzhak Hagag: “We are looking into restoring more buildings with historic character”
26 Market conditions boost growth of luxury residential segment in Bucharest
28 Mixed-use projects gain prominence as urban regeneration initiatives
30 Investment market remains in growth mode
32 Property players seeking new ways to contain inflation pressures
33 Vastint Romania providing top office spaces in Bucharest
TRENDS
34 Property players adapting to emerging trends in pandemic economy
36 Pandemic-driven tech adoption making a difference in commercial real estate
38 Property industry bracing for new tax and legal updates
40 In the age of remote work, location still matters for startups