They accounted for 39% of the total volume of transactions, estimated at €4.5 billion. Romanian investors ranked second, with a volume of nearly €1.2 billion and a 26% share. CEE investors ranked third, with acquisitions of €560 million.

New investors that entered the local market include M Core (UK), Supernova (Austria), Adventum Group (Hungary), Fortress (South Africa) and Oresa Industra (Sweden).

The largest acquisitions were made by Pavăl Holding, CTP and AFI Europe, which consolidated their positions by taking over portfolios of office buildings and industrial and logistics parks.

"The local real estate market has attracted capital from over 20 countries on four continents, but even so, European investors, including Romanian ones, were responsible for about 80% of the traded volume. The appetite of Western European players for acquisitions remained high at the beginning of this year as well, but we are seeing increasing interest from players in Central and Eastern Europe," said Cristi Moga, Head of Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

The most traded properties were office buildings (49%), followed by commercial projects (24%) and industrial properties (19%). About 60% of the invested volume was directed towards properties located in Bucharest.