Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: retail projects delivered in April-May in Romania surged after weak Q1

There was no retail project completion in Q1 in Romania, but the delivery pace significantly picked up in April and May, when roughly 150,000 sqm 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 real estate consultancy company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

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

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

According to the same report, there were no significant movements regarding prime shopping center and high street rents in Romania across Q1, with values of EUR 90 and EUR 60/ sqm/ month being quoted for units between 100 - 200 sqm 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 EUR 50 - 65/ sqm/ month.

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