Romanian investors have bought office buildings, hotels in smaller towns or mountain resorts, two small shopping centers and portfolios of shops on the street. In terms of total volume, however, the Romanians came third, accumulating commercial property (with rental income) worth €139 million.
Among the countries from which real estate investors come to Romania, Belgium ranks first in terms of total volume invested in real estate. In the first eight months of the year, a single Belgian investor, WDP, bought three properties for a total of €207 million. In second place is the Czech Republic, where a single investor, CTP, completed a single transaction, but with a record value for the year, acquiring a portfolio of industrial parks in five Romanian cities for €168 million.
The value of commercial property transactions in Romania in the first eight months of 2024 is estimated at €661 million. This exceeds the level of the whole of 2023.
"In the first eight months of 2024, Romania has already exceeded the total volume of commercial real estate transactions for the whole of 2023 by 20%. There are indications that in the next four months, until the end of the year, this percentage will be even higher. We have seen a pick-up in office transactions in recent months, with a focus on projects that have proven their resilience and performance during the difficult period of the past few years. We expect this trend to continue in the future, given the lack of new product," says Ștefan Oană, Head of Capital Markets at Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance.
Property investment in Europe
According to the latest study by the BNP Paribas Real Estate alliance, of which Fortim Trusted Advisors is a member, domestic real estate investment (in one's own country) was the driving force behind the development of the European real estate market in the first half of 2024, reaching a value of €42.7 billion, a market share of 58% of total investment in Europe and an increase of +7% compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, cross-border investments decreased by 9% during this period, totalling €30.7 billion.
Among the foreigners who invested in Europe, the Americans were the most active investors at European level. They invested a total of €12.8 billion, 56% more than in 2023. With 90% of the total, Germany accounted for most of the properties bought by Americans.
Otherwise, all the other three categories - investors from other European countries (€9.9bn), Asia and the Pacific (€3.6bn) or the Middle East (€0.6bn) - showed declining values.
"Domestic investment dominated the European market. This trend was observed both in economies with mature property markets and in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. In Romania, the involvement of local investors in the commercial segment increased significantly for the third consecutive year. The year 2022 marked a record of domestic investment in the real estate sector, 2023 was characterised by a period of adjustment, and in 2024 there is a steady increase in the value of transactions in all market segments - office, retail, hotel and industrial," says Nicolae Ciobanu, Managing Partner and Head of Advisory at Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance.
