Romania’s real estate investment market attracted transactions worth approximately 300 million euros in the first half of 2026, down from around 400 million euros a year earlier, equivalent to approximately 5% of the total volume recorded across the six largest economies in Central and Eastern Europe – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. At regional level, investment volumes reached 5.8 billion euros, 7% above the level recorded in the same period last year, according to Colliers’ “CEE Investment Scene H1 2026” report. The return of capital nevertheless remains selective, with investors focusing primarily on properties offering stable income, strong energy performance and clear prospects for long-term value creation.
Investment activity across the region in the first half of the year exceeded both the five-year average of 4.6 billion euros and the ten-year average of 5.1 billion euros. For the full year, Colliers expects regional investment volumes to reach 12.5-13 billion euros, above the 11.6 billion euros recorded in 2025 and very close to the peaks seen between 2017 and 2019. The region is therefore entering the second half of the year from a stronger position than anticipated at the beginning of 2026, supported by a recovery in transaction activity and an active pipeline.
”The decline in transaction volumes in Romania during the period under review should be seen in a broader context. We have several transactions currently under way, while the largest retail transaction on the local market, the sale of a MAS portfolio to AFI Europe, in which Colliers advised AFI, narrowly slipped into the third quarter. If other large transactions currently in progress are also completed, 2026 has the potential to close with investment volumes of close to one billion euros, which would make it only the second year since 2007 in which the market has reached this threshold. The first half of the year was also particularly active for our team, being involved in three of the major office transactions completed during this period, accounting for most of the activity in the sector that dominated local investment volumes”, says Robert Miklo, Partner, Head of Capital Markets at Colliers.
The market is becoming increasingly diversified, with both interest and transactions across all major real estate sectors. Office buildings have returned to investors’ attention and generated approximately 60% of the transaction volume in the first half of the year, the highest share since 2022. This percentage is, however, expected to decline in the second half as significant transactions in other sectors are completed.
”Influenced by the limited supply of properties available for sale, investment volumes remain below the level suggested by both investor appetite and the size of the local economy. In the first half of the year, Romania attracted just 5.4% of the investment volume recorded across the six largest economies in the region, despite accounting for almost 18% of their combined GDP. This gap shows that the local market still has substantial room for growth”, adds Robert Miklo.
At regional level, Poland further consolidated its leading position, with investment volumes exceeding 3 billion euros in the first half of the year, representing 52% of the regional total and the strongest first-half result since 2018. Activity was supported by major transactions in retail, private rented residential, logistics and offices, with the retail sector alone attracting more than one billion euros. The Czech Republic ranked second, with investment volumes exceeding 1.4 billion euros, compared with 2.2 billion euros in the same period of 2025, while Hungary attracted close to 600 million euros, its strongest first-half result since 2021.
Across Central and Eastern Europe, offices returned to the top of investors’ preferences, accounting for 29% of regional investment volumes in the first half of the year, compared with 23% in the same period of 2025, followed by retail at 27% and residential at 19%, while the share of the industrial and logistics sector declined to 17%. Interest in offices is concentrated on premium, energy-efficient and well-located buildings, while older assets may offer opportunities for refurbishment or conversion. Retail continues to show resilience, supported by domestic consumption, lower operating costs and the development of schemes combining shopping with services and community functions. The industrial and logistics sector remains underpinned by nearshoring, e-commerce and the defence industry, although investors are paying closer attention to vacancy levels, access to power, automation potential and lease structures.
Romania continues to offer attractive yields compared with more mature markets in the region. In Bucharest, yields remain at approximately 7.5% for offices, 7.75% for industrial and logistics properties and 7.25% for shopping centres, above the levels seen in Warsaw, Prague or Bratislava. This advantage can support investor interest, but it needs to be assessed alongside market liquidity, asset quality, income stability and local macroeconomic risks. In the current cycle, yield alone is no longer sufficient, and investors are drawing an increasingly clear distinction between assets capable of generating stable long-term income and those exposed to depreciation risk, limited liquidity or regulatory uncertainty.
”Financing conditions are favorable, but the advantage lies with high-quality properties with stable income, credible sponsors and clear sustainability strategies”, adds Robert Miklo, Partner, Head of Capital Markets at Colliers.
According to the Colliers report, corporate demand for financing increased slightly in the second quarter, including for investment, refinancing and restructuring, although margins remained higher for projects perceived as higher risk. At the same time, banks are offering more favorable terms to companies and buildings making clear progress in the energy transition, while assets with weak energy performance are facing tighter lending standards and lower demand.
For the second half of the year, Colliers consultants remain cautiously optimistic. Central and Eastern Europe continues to grow faster than Western Europe, although performance varies from one country to another. Poland remains the strongest of the region’s major economies, the Czech Republic is expanding at a moderate pace, Hungary is recovering from stagnation, while Romania and Slovakia are facing a more challenging macroeconomic environment. For the euro area, Colliers expects economic growth to temporarily slow to 0.5% in 2026, followed by a recovery to 1.1% in 2027, preserving the relative growth advantage of several Central and Eastern European markets.
The main risks for the second half of the year are high interest rates, rising Euribor, refinancing requirements for certain loans and geopolitical tensions, which may affect both financing conditions and supply chains. These pressures are compounded by weakness in German industry, trade uncertainty, tariffs and developments in energy prices, particularly in export-dependent economies across the region. At the same time, investment in infrastructure, defence, the energy transition, artificial intelligence, reindustrialisation and the relocation of production closer to European markets may create new opportunities for the real estate sector. The region benefits from competitive costs, a strategic location and integration within the European Union, while the growing role of local and regional capital is supporting liquidity and reducing dependence on global capital cycles.
”Beyond fluctuations from one half-year to another, the overall picture for Romania remains clearly positive. Market fundamentals are solid: attractive yields in a regional context, an economy with a significant weight within the region, and genuine investor interest across all major real estate sectors. We expect this potential to become more visible by the end of the year, supported by transactions already completed at the beginning of the new semester and by the closing of deals currently under way, resulting in a stronger investment activity”, concludes Robert Miklo.