The real estate market is facing an unprecedented situation as a result of restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The real estate sectors hardest hit by these restrictions were offices and non-food retail. The large corporations that occupy the office buildings in Bucharest are subletting important parts of the premises left vacant by employees who work from home to save millions of euros. Office building owners see the value of their real estate threatened if reputable companies decide to leave at the end of the lease, and face sublease offers below their rent level. The number of visits to malls decreased due to the pandemic and, as a result, retailers’ revenues decreased proportionately. Mall owners renegotiated the contracts with the tenants, and some did not charge any rent during the period when the shops were closed. As a result, rents decreased. Uncertainty has led many homeowners who wanted to sell commercial properties in 2021 or 2022 to postpone their release until a more favorable period.

DISCUSSION TOPICS

• The impact of the sublease market, which reached the largest volume ever on the Romanian market.
• Proposed working models for returning to office work. Durability of the hybrid work system.
• Contractual clauses that oblige tenant corporations to pay the full rent, sometimes for years, and that hold captive companies that want to give up surplus space
• Postponement of state aid for half of the rents of traders who had shops in closed malls during the state of emergency.
• Investors’ appetite for the development of retail parks, to the detriment of classic malls, due to their resilience.
• The pandemic had a major impact on the real estate market in general. Is there still an investment appetite?
• How are mixed-use projects going through the crisis?
• What are the post-pandemic prospects in the real estate market?
• Evolution of the pace of home sales and apartment prices, after a year with record sales and deliveries.
• Institutional investors enter the housing rental market and define new rental standards.
• Impact of the suspension, for a period of 12 months, of the Zonal Urban Plans at the level of Sectors 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• Builders are once again basing their business on public sector work, which also acts as a catalyst for the private sector.

The event broadcast LIVE on PROFIT NEWS TV, www.profit.ro and facebook.com/profit.ro