C&W Echinox expects lower yields for premium properties in Romania

Romania continues to offer among the most attractive yields in the region, which explains the high level of liquidity, says Mihnea Şerbănescu, General Manager, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

But he said that he expects a compression for premium assets located in reference areas, “properties that attract a wider range of potential buyers.”

The total value of transactions with commercial real estate assets in Romania, which include offices, retail, industrial and logistics projects, hotels, amounted to EUR 298 mln in the first half of 2021, down 23% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to a report by real estate consulting company C&W Echinox, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The company estimated a market value of EUR 914 million for 2020, up 28% compared to 2019. But due to the re-allocation of deals de facto completed in 2019 and only registered in 2020, another consulting company - CBRE - came up with a value very different: EUR 589 mln.

The biggest transactions in the first half were initialed by Austrian investors who expanded into the Bucharest office market by acquiring Campus 6.2 & 6.3 (S Immo), The Light One (Uniqa RE), and Bucharest Financial Plaza (Immofinanz ).

The three transactions, with a cumulative value of about EUR 189 mln, account for nearly two-thirds of the total market.

The industrial and logistics segment accounted for nearly a quarter of the market. CTP and Globalworth expanded their portfolios by acquiring buildings in the west of the country, while the Swedish group Oresa Ventures acquired the Solo Parc project, the largest logistics park in Iasi.

(Photo: Nuthawut Somsuk / Dreamstime)