Romanian 1Q Real Estate Investment Doubles Year-On-Year, To EUR200M

05.02.2011 By Andrei Circhelan

Real estate investment activity in the first quarter cumulated some EUR200 million in Romania, double the level seen in the same interval of 2010, mostly boosted when CA Immo took over the Europolis portfolio.

"In Romania investment volume at the end of the first quarter tracked approximately €200 mil. The 86% increase q-o-q (Q1 2011 versus Q4 2010) is explained by the take-over of Europolis real estate portfolio amounting to 90% from the total investment volume registered in Q1 2011," said a news release by real estate consultancy firm DTZ Echinox.

DTZ Echinox announced in April last year that the value of real estate transactions reached some EUR100 million.

Transactions unfolded in Romania represent some 10% of all realty investment registered in Europe, namely EUR20.5 billion in the first quarter.

Austria's second-largest real estate developer, the CA Immo group, bought the real estate investment division of Austrian lender Volksbank, for EUR272 million. The transaction was completed this year.

The Europolis portfolio in Romania included the Europe House and Riverplace office buildings, as well as a plot for an office building, all in Bucharest. In addition, the portfolio included a logistic park in Arad.