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Romania's real estate investments went past the 1-billion euro line in 2019, standing 7 percent higher than in 2018, shows data of the research department of the real estate consulting company CBRE Romania.
Last year's roughly 1.06 billion euro worth of investments mark a five-year high on the Romanian real estate market.
"2019 was the year of regional cities as regards office building trading, with Cluj-Napoca attracting investments worth almost 200 million euros, or 20 percent of the total volume traded nationwide, but Bucharest remained the leader with 64 percent of the total transactions. Office buildings were the main traded products, accounting for almost 75 percent of the total transactions nationwide. The appetite for office buildings in the capital city remains high, and there are multiple opportunities, both in already traditional areas, such as the Central Business District and the north of Bucharest, as well as in the dynamic areas, in full development process, such as the west of the city," said CBRE Romania Head of Investment Properties Gijs Klomp.
As regards the buyers' profile, Israeli investors hold the top position with a record-high transaction at the end of 2019, or 36 percent of the traded volume, followed by Romanian investors (26 percent) and the South African funds with 17 percent.
"Romania is an increasingly interesting destination for new investors and most likely, just like 2019, this year will bring new names on the local market. There are several companies seeking to expand their portfolio in Romania, pursuing in particular the acquisition of office buildings and industrial spaces. We expect a further compression of the yields, both for offices (from the current 7 percent) and for the industrial sector (currently at 7.75 percent)," added Gijs Klomp.
