Real Estate: Romanian real estate investments reach 750 million EUR, up 58 pct, in 2024

Real estate investments in Romania reached 750 million EUR in 2024, up 58% from the previous year, but slightly below the annual average of 800 million EUR over the past decade, according to an annual report published by Colliers, a real estate consulting company."Romania stood out as a regional leader, with the best performance compared to the other five major Central and Eastern European economies - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Transaction activity was dominated by industrial assets, with a volume of almost 300 million EUR, marking 2024 as a record year for this investment category. The most significant transactions include the sale of Globalworth's industrial portfolio, partially co-owned with Global Vision, for 278 million EUR, carried out in two separate deals," a Colliers release said.For 2025, the outlook for the real estate market is mixed, according to the company's consultants, who explained that the main challenge comes from the domestic context, marked by political uncertainty generated by the annulment of the presidential elections and a high cost of risk generated by economic imbalances."Compared to the previous year, 2024 was a much more active year and ended with a solid result. The strong transaction momentum observed during the year continued into 2025, with several major deals still in progress. These increases in trading activity confirm that the relatively low volume of investment in Romania, compared to Poland, is the result of a lack of available products rather than a lack of interest. Banks have remained involved in facilitating access to finance. This year, we expect the positive dynamics to continue, with good premises to surpass the performance of 2024," explained Robert Miklo, Partner | Head of Capital Markets Colliers, quoted in the press release.The biggest transactions of the year were the sales of Globalworth's industrial portfolio. CTP acquired 270,000 square meters of rentable warehousing and expansion land in several cities for about 168 million EUR. At the same time, WDP bought a 136,000-square-meter portfolio held by Globalworth and GlobalVision for about 110 million EUR. In addition, WDP also acquired Expo Market Doraly, a commercial park north of Bucharest, for an estimated 90 million EUR. Another important transaction was the sale of the office complex The Landmark, located in the central business district, to Indian-backed African Industries Group. This is the first major transaction with Indian capital in commercial real estate in Romania and has contributed to the stabilization of yields for premium offices, Colliers consultants point out.According to Robert Miklo, the average deal value was around 25 million EUR, one of the lowest in recent years. Still, this reflects the growing involvement of local capital, which is becoming increasingly active. The new wave of entrepreneurs, who have built up capital through their businesses over the past decades, are increasingly looking for opportunities to invest their funds. Between 2022 and 2024, deals below 20 million EUR accounted for about a quarter of the annual volume on average, he pointed out.Yields remained stable in 2024, at 7.25% for prime shopping centers, 7.50% for premium office and 7.75% for prime industrial assets, with a slight increase of 0.25 percentage points for the latter.For 2025, the outlook is promising, with almost 100 million EUR in transactions signed but not finalized, including the sale of a part of Iride Park, owned by Immofinanz, and a portfolio of commercial parks belonging to MAS REI. Other transactions in various stages of negotiation and totaling around 500 million EUR point to a solid start to the year. If favorable trends continue, the company's analysis shows that investments in commercial real estate could exceed the 800 million EUR threshold in 2025. However, this scenario depends on the evolution of a number of key factors."The main challenges for Romania are related to the domestic context, marked by political uncertainty. This climate could lead investors to adopt a more cautious approach until the situation is clarified. In addition, the high cost of risk, generated by a significant fiscal deficit and current account imbalances, is affecting the attractiveness of the market, although investment returns remain competitive. The implementation of fiscal reforms could reduce these risks and stimulate investment activity in the long term. Externally, geopolitical developments, the fragile euro area economy and global trade policies remain factors to watch. However, the long-term outlook is optimistic. Between 2015 and 2019, Romania recorded an average annual volume of commercial real estate transactions of over 900 million EUR and GDP doubled in nominal terms compared to 2015. Accelerated infrastructure development will have a positive impact at all levels of the economy and will eventually also result in improving the country's investment attractiveness. Thus, Romania's potential to attract new investors and to have a positive long-term trajectory is significant," added Robert Miklo.