Colliers warns of deficit on the real estate market, caused by uncertain pipeline

The total value of real estate investments in Romania approached EUR 900 mln in 2021, more than a third of the amount being concentrated in the last quarter of the year, according to the real estate consulting company Colliers Romania.

"The volume, although good, fails to show the true magnitude of demand, because of the [...] limited supply. This is true for all major real estate sectors: office, retail and industrial. Due to the blockage of the authorization process [in Bucharest], there is a lot of uncertainty about the delivery of new products. In this context, we see rising interest for the existing assets, centrally located, which following an investment can be converted into a residential, hotel or can be upgraded to modern office space," says Anca Merdescu, Associate Director for Investments Services at Colliers.

Although in the category toughest hit by the pandemic, the retail sector was dominant in terms of transactions, with a share of 48% of the total volume of investments in the last quarter, followed by industrial and logistics spaces (29%) and offices ( 17%).

Colliers' analysis indicates an increase in investor interest in retail products in the last half-year, focusing on various product categories, such as retail parks or shopping malls, shopping centers in tertiary, secondary cities in need of repositioning or boxes rented to supermarkets or DIY.

(Photo: Francesco Scatena/ Dreamstime)