JLL study sees mixed picture for local real estate market

Romania should be able to return to the capital markets for financing, following Fitch Ratings’ recent upgrade of the Romanian economy, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s report on the real estate market for Q2, 2011

September 2011 - From the Print Edition

However, the study concludes that the credibility of developers has dropped significantly due to insolvencies on the market, bankruptcies and the halting of projects. H1 of 2011 registered a slight increase in prices on the residential market, which rose 2.2 percent from the beginning of this year. However, JLL consultants doubt the trend will continue, with the number of transactions remaining steady due to the lack of new projects. John Duckworth, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle in CEE & SEE, commented, “The CEE & SEE markets are fragmented and operate at different speeds. The more mature markets of Warsaw and Prague are experiencing a relatively broad based real estate market recovery, whilst Belgrade and Zagreb are in much different stages of their development. Budapest, Bucharest and Bratislava are all different again, but here we also see tentative signs of recovery across investors, developers and occupiers.” Some of the most significant transactions quoted in the study are the purchase of Astoria Business Center in Bucharest by the Greek fund Bluehouse Capital, in a EUR 10 million transaction, and the takeover of the remaining 69 percent of Adama real estate developer by the Austrian financial group Immofinanz, in a deal worth EUR 42 million, mainly targeting Adama’s residential portfolio.