Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: The retail projects delivered in the last two months in Romania accounted for 80% of the entire 2024 new supply

There was no retail project completion in Q1 in Romania, but the delivery pace significantly picked up in April and May, when ~150,000 sq. m of new schemes opened (including one super regional shopping center – Mall Moldova – in Iasi). This area represents 80% of the entire 2024 new supply, according to data from the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox real estate consultancy company.

Therefore, the modern retail stock in Romania reached 4.7 million sq. m, which corresponds to a density of 250 sq. m/ 1,000 inhabitants, still one of the lowest in both Europe and the CEE region.

However, developers have announced major plans which would correspond to more than 600,000 sq. m GLA in projects expected to be delivered by the end of the decade.

Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: “Romania’s retail market has strong growth potential on the medium and long term in all locations, as the density of modern retail spaces is still below the European average in many cities. Developers are focusing on large-scale projects with mixed-use and entertainment components which respond to new consumer behaviors. At the same time, the digitalization of the shopping experience and the integration of online-offline channels will become key differentiators in commercial offerings. Moreover, the sustained growth in retail sales, especially in the non-food segment, in an economically volatile context, encourages new investments.”

Retail sales increased by 3.5% in the first quarter, driven by a 7.8% growth in non-food product sales, while food, beverages, and tobacco recorded a 2% decline.

Additionally, the Moody’s rating agency forecasts an average yearly retail sales growth of 3% in Romania until 2030, compared with just 1% in the Eurozone.

The retail segment remains attractive to real estate investors, with over €110 million of retail properties being transacted in Q1, representing more than 64% of the total investment volume during that period. All transactions involved properties located outside Bucharest.

There were no significant movements regarding prime shopping center and high street rents in Romania across Q1, with values of €90 and €60/ sq. m/ month being quoted for units between 100 – 200 sq. m at the ground floor of dominant shopping centers and on high street locations in Bucharest, while the corresponding figures in secondary cities, such as Cluj – Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi and Constanta were ranging between €50 – 65/ sq. m/ month.