Transactions in Bucharest accounted for 76% of the national volume, as liquidity in secondary cities continued to improve.
"In Romania there are registered only 8% of the transactions of the region, almost half than in Hungary and more than three times less than in the Czech Republic, given that Hungary has a lower economy than Romania and the Czech Republic a similar one. It's about investor perceptions about the country, although funding conditions have improved significantly in the past 18 months, with structures and costs closer to other markets in Central and Eastern Europe," said Andrei Vacaru, head of capital markets at JLL Romania.
In 2018 the total volume of transactions was dominated by those of office space (56%) and retail (about 30%), followed by industrial and residential.
"At the end of September, yields were 8% for industry, 7.25% for offices, and 7% for retail. For the next period, we expect the yields to remain stable, except for Bucharest could offer a unique combination of stable rents and the potential for compressing yields against a very high liquidity background in other European markets", said Andrei Vacaru.
The value of the modern office stock is 2.64 million square meters nationwide, of which 58% are Class A buildings. Deliveries of new office space reached 111,000 sqm in the first nine months of 2018. Because of the rise in prices land and labor, JLL estimates rents could rise from the current average of 16 euros / sq m / month. IT continues to remain the largest player on the local market, say specialists, and in 2019 will excel delivery of new spaces. Coworking offices are expected to grow in 2019.
The industrial market delivered 500,000 square meters in 2018.
The market for industrial and logistics space is the star of this year, the market is maturing, and the 5% vacancy rate of nine months is healthy.
This market has doubled over the past three years and 195 sq m is close to the European average of 300 sq m / thousand inhabitants.
The logistics market is close to 4 million square meters, with 300,000 square meters under construction, so specialists believe that the 4 million square meter target will be reached by the end of the year. They also estimate a total demand of over 400,000 square meters.

Total demand for industrial premises reached in Q3 2018 nearly 200,000 sqm and 58% of the total space demand was recorded in Bucharest, followed by Cluj and Timisoara. (source: agendaconstructiilor.ro)