Retail developers continue to accelerate expansion plans across Romania, with projects totalling more than 750,000 sqm currently in construction and planning stages for delivery until 2029, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Romania's commercial real estate investment market recorded approximately €500 million in 2025, down 31% from the previous year, due to the absence of large transactions.
Romanian investors became the most important source of capital on the local real estate market, generating approximately 30% of transaction volume in 2025 and accumulating nearly €1.8 billion in investments over the past decade, according to Colliers' annual report.
CEE property investment reached a turning point in 2025, with transaction volumes across the region's six main markets totalling €11.6 billion, representing 31% annual growth according to Colliers' latest analysis.
Horațiu Papakonstantinou-Florescu, Chairman & CEO Romania, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia at Knight Frank, talked to Property Forum about the dominance of lease renewals, the anticipated 2026 delivery wave, and how Bucharest's high yields and infrastructure projects continue to attract multinational tenants.
Commercial real estate companies remain optimistic about 2026, with 83% expecting revenue growth, according to a Deloitte report. This represents a slight decline from 88% last year, while 68% plan to increase expenses in 2026.
Property Forum is excited to publish the timeline for its flagship awards programmes in 2026, celebrating excellence and innovation across Central & Eastern Europe's real estate markets. These awards recognise outstanding organisations, projects and individuals whose contributions have shaped the region's real estate landscape over the past year. SEE Property Forum Awards and CEE Property Forum Awards reflect the momentum and dynamism of regional property sectors and provide a platform to honour industry leadership, sustainability, design excellence and strategic impact.
PeliPartners assisted Second Foundation in acquiring stakes in energy storage projects with a combined capacity of approximately 150 MW in southern Romania.
Ebury, the global fintech specialising in international payments and FX risk management, has appointed Cosmin Bucur as its new Country Manager for Romania.
Colliers has published a new report focusing on CEE, examining economic and real estate trends across Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The study shows that 2025 brought moderate economic recovery, easing inflation and rising focus on sustainability, while real estate markets were shaped by modernization, limited new office supply, strong logistics demand and retail park expansion.
iO Partners has appointed Andrei Văcaru as Managing Director for Romania, effective January 2026. After a transition period with Văcaru until year-end, Vlad Stanislav will take time off before pursuing new opportunities.
Confidence is returning across CEE real estate markets, with investor sentiment shifting from cautious optimism to execution, according to Colliers. The region continues to demonstrate resilience, supported by moderating inflation, solid household consumption, and strong employment levels.
CEE recorded a 38% increase in real estate investments in the first three quarters of 2025, reaching over €7 billion across six major markets, according to Colliers' latest report.
The closing panel of SEE Property Forum 2025 in Bucharest, moderated by Victor Constantinescu from Kinstellar, brought together leading local players to assess sentiment, shifting asset preferences, and the practical steps investors must take to navigate the year ahead. The panellists examined where capital is moving, what risks remain most pressing, and how legal, geopolitical, and market dynamics will shape investment decisions across Romania and CEE.
The Romanian Investment and Development Bank (BID) has committed €20 million to the Three Seas Initiative Innovation Fund, becoming the fifth national promotional institution to support the EIF-led investment vehicle targeting growth-stage companies across Central and Eastern Europe.
Gas Transmission System Operators (TSOs) from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine have signed a joint letter requesting their national energy regulators.
Nepi Rockcastle has appointed Marek Noetzel as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 April 2026. Noetzel, who has served as the company's COO since June 2022, will succeed current CEO Rüdiger Dany.
Knauf Insulation has inaugurated its new glass mineral wool factory in Romania, marking the group's single largest investment in CEE.
CEE economies have been delivering solid GDP growth, outpacing many Western European peers despite external trade uncertainties and recent inflationary pressures, according to Colliers' latest report.
Romania is positioning itself as a key retail market in Central and Eastern Europe, with developers shifting focus from large cities to smaller communities, according to a Colliers report. While large cities previously concentrated three quarters of modern retail stock, rising incomes and demand for modern formats are making communities of around 50,000 inhabitants attractive for new investment, with retail parks driving development.
Bucharest is consolidating its position within the Central and Eastern European (CEE) real estate market, combining rental growth across major asset classes with investment yields that remain well above Western European levels, according to the DNA of Real Estate Europe Q2 2026 report published by Cushman & Wakefield. Across Europe in Q2 2026, prime office rents rose 4.5% year-on-year, retail rents increased 3.0%, and logistics rents grew 2.4%, while investors remained selective as yield movements pointed to a more balanced market following the repricing cycle of recent years.
Energy company Electrica informs investors and the capital market that it has obtained the technical grid connection permits (ATR) for 17 new battery energy storage projects (BESS), with a total capacity of approximately 700 MWh.
The European Retail Banking Radar, Kearney's latest study now in its 18th edition, shows that Europe is entering a period of normalisation following the conditions of 2023–2025. For Romania, the challenge extends beyond the normalisation of interest rates.
Romania's national electricity transmission network operator, Transelectrica, has halted scheduled maintenance shutdowns to ensure the grid operates at maximum capacity during an ongoing extreme heatwave. The preventive measures aim to mitigate operational risks associated with severe weather conditions.
Digi Spain has announced its intention to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Spanish stock exchanges, aiming to raise approximately €150 million.