Record of the last 5 years: The volume of real estate transactions in Romania exceeded the 1 billion euro threshold in 2019

The volume reached in 2019 also marks a record of the last five years in terms of investment transactions on the Romanian real estate market.
"2019 was the year of the regional cities for transactions with office buildings, Cluj-Napoca attracting investments of almost 200 million euros, respectively 20% of the total volume traded at the country level, but Bucharest remained leader, with 64% of the total transactions. Office buildings were the main traded products, accounting for almost 75% of the total transactions at national level. The appetite for office buildings in the Capital remains high and there are many opportunities, both in the established areas, such as CBD (Central Business District) and northern Bucharest, as well as in the dynamic areas, which are still under development, as is the city's west", Said Gijs Klomp, Head of Investment Properties, CBRE Romania, a company that advised in 2019 the sale of a package of three office buildings in Cluj-Napoca, owned by the Hexagon group of companies.
From the point of view of the buyers profile, the Israeli investors occupy the first place through the record transaction since the end of 2019, with 36% of the traded volume, followed by the Romanian investors (26%) and the South African funds with 17%.
 "Romania is an increasingly interesting destination for new investors and most likely 2020 will bring, like 2019, new names on the local market. There are several companies intending to expand their portfolio in Romania, in particular pursuing the acquisition of office buildings and industrial spaces. We are still expecting a compression of yields, both for offices (7% at present) and for the industrial sector (7.75%) ”, added GijsKlomp.

In the office sector, the most important transactions were: the sale by NEPI Rockastle of the portfolio of four office buildings (Aviators 8, The Lakeview, Floreasca 169A and City Business Centre Timisoara) to AFI Europe for EUR 308 million and the building The Office from Cluj-Napoca to Dedeman for EUR 129 million, followed by the sale of the America House office building by AEW to Morgan Stanley for EUR 77 million. Other important transactions in the office market:
- the sale of Oregon Park III by Portland Trust to Lion'sHead Investment for EUR 60 million
- the sale of Liberty Technology Park by Friborg Development to White Star for EUR 35 million
- the sale of the Hexagon portfolio (Vivido Business Center, Advancity Business Center and Cube Office) to Ideal Project Services for an amount of over 30 million EUR
- the sale of the Day Tower project by the Day Group to the Corporate Finance House Group for EUR 31 million (source: CBRE)