Office Market News

Why is the square in Belgrade the FOURTH MOST EXPENSIVE in Europe? We are right behind Moscow and Paris, and one piece of information shows that the real estate market is immune to the crisis

Despite the corona virus pandemic, the demand for and purchase of apartments in Serbia is not decreasing. Proportionally to the increase in the demand for apartments, the prices of housing space also grew, to the extent that Belgrade is ranked among the most expensive cities in Europe in that category. According to the information available on the Numbeo website, which is considered to be the world's largest database on the cost of living and quality of life, Belgrade is on the fourth place on the list of the most expensive cities in Europe in terms of real estate prices in relation to the level of income. The ratio of real estate prices and the average income of Belgraders is a staggering 19.77. The capital of Serbia is thus behind Moscow (or 21.12), which is in first place, Paris (20.97) and Split (19.77), and ahead of Vladivostok (18.63), Gdansk (18.31) and Milan (17.85). If we take into account that real estate worth around 4.2 billion euros was sold in Serbia last year, which is more than the average for the previous three years, we get the impression that the real estate market remained immune to the crisis. For example, on the site nekretnine.rs, the prices of apartments in the city center range from 2,000 euros per square meter and up, depending on the structure, number of floors and square footage, while on the outskirts the prices range between 1,000 and 1,400 euros. The most expensive square meter of residential space in Serbia in 2020 was sold in Belgrade on the water and cost an incredible 9,600 euros. Increased demand The Construction Directorate of Serbia says that the demand is currently higher than the supply, which affects the growth of prices. There was a short delay due to the corona in the realization in March and April last year, but the market stabilized very quickly and returned to the level before the epidemic, they say in GDS. Sales started to grow in the second half of May, and since then there has been a constant growth in sales and customer interest. Low interest rates on housing loans and fear of the collapse of foreign currency savings Experts point to several factors that boost demand for apartments in the capital. The Vice President of the Construction Chamber of Serbia, Goran Rodić, points to the fact that a large number of citizens who want to save foreign currency savings, have invested it in real estate. - The main reason for this demand for apartments is the desire of people to get rid of their foreign currency savings, for which there is almost no interest. The uncertainty of the exchange rate of the euro and the dollar, and the fear that the savings may disappear, are pushing the citizens to invest in real estate, Rodić says for "Blic Biznis". An additional factor, which encourages the investment of foreign currency savings of citizens in real estate, is the bad position of people on the labor market, adds Rodić. - Due to the crisis, there are fewer and fewer people with permanent employment, and banks do not issue loans to citizens without permanent employment, so they turn to investing their savings, concludes Rodić. Milić Đoković, a real estate expert, has a similar opinion. He sees the cause of the rise in prices in the lack of safe investment opportunities for citizens and low interest rates on housing loans. - Real estate prices jump due to rising capital prices. Loans and money are currently cheap, interest rates on loans range between 2.5 and 3 percent, and the situation is such that people have nowhere to safely invest except in real estate. Suburban settlements are more favorable to "ordinary", average citizens who cannot afford to buy apartments in attractive locations in the city, Djokovic says for "Blic Biznis". He adds that average citizens have decent salaries, but that it certainly pays them much more to invest in real estate in suburban settlements, because they get more square meters in some other municipalities in Belgrade, at the same price. - The infrastructure in those settlements is being built slowly. New sewerage, electricity and roads are being built. If these works give the expected results, and if everything goes decently and normally, it is completely okay to buy, Djokovic concludes. New infrastructure Another reason for the rise in real estate prices is the large number of infrastructure works in Belgrade, both in the city center and on the outskirts. A Belgrade real estate agency also confirms that the infrastructure works are a flywheel for investors. They point out that the attractive fact for new investors is that, unlike attractive locations in the city, there is not so much competition in the suburbs and it is easier to start a business. According to investors and builders, the increase in the price of thermal insulation materials can be one of the key factors that will affect the demand and the growth of the price per square meter. Source: blic.rs

THE PRICE OF SQUARE IS GROWING IN SERBIA

Here is how much a square costs and what is the cause of the jump

Who should be in the driving seat of the real estate innovation

The prolific change of 2020 has shaped the real estate industry more than anything else in decades. The digitization had been underway before the pandemic, but the speed of that shift has accelerated in ways that nobody could have predicted. With all that in mind, many landlords and asset managers are currently re-thinking what their product and offering should be to stay competitive and how it should reflect all the latest trends (think digitization, remote work, ESG, wellbeing expectations, data). With all the goals that should be covered, it can be difficult for landlords to navigate the right way for their unique business case. In terms of implementing the technology, one question gets repeated in the conversations I have: what is in the competence of landlords and what are the topics each individual tenant should address. As I wrote in my previous article, stepping into this new era, I believe every building should have a digital layer to allow better life in buildings. To enable that, properties need to run on an operating system to create an elevated experience for occupants. But every OS is a complex thing with many use cases to consider. So speaking about a commercial building, what does it mean? Where should you as a landlord or asset manager start? From our perspective, the tenant experience platform has two verticals: Connected building and portfolio – to set the infrastructure for future integrations, streamline communication, enable mobile access system, guest management, payments, issue reporting, on-demand amenities and services, energy monitoring and finally work with analytics to understand customer needs and preferences. Altogether, this presents the heart of the building. Empowering tenants – every tenant should be able to set their private digital environment, where they can operate their workplace in the new way of working (agile, hybrid, hub & spoke...) with features supporting on-demand booking of hot desks, meeting rooms, monitoring of occupancy, air quality data and much more The success of a landlord largely depends on the success of tenants. The success of a tenant company largely depends on the success of teams and individuals, their happiness, productivity, and in turn, loyalty. Thus, sporting tenants should be one of the landlord’s top priorities. In conclusion, a progressive landlord should introduce both layers. This strategic approach puts landlords in the driving seat of these changes with the right tech infrastructure that attracts, retains and fully empowers tenants. On top of that, it brings a full advantage to stay competitive in a market that is heavily shifting to flexible space operations. Finally, landlords get prepared for a tech-enabled future and successfully integrate both physical and digital aspects of life in buildings. With the right OS, your building is no longer a piece of hardware that requires CAPEX for every update, but rather a Tesla car that is getting updated to keep up with the always-changing world. Thanks to the huge effort of our team, inputs from our clients and partners, we plan a significant upgrade of the Spaceflow platform which is going to be released in mid-2021. Our aim with this update is to empower landlords all over the world with the best off-the-shelf technology to implement both these verticals in an easier way. What to look forward to? Our platform will get a fresh look and will get fully integrated and customizable. All modules are currently being enhanced based on the product discoveries with occupants and long-term cooperation with some of the top global real estate owners. Stay tuned!

GTC is building another business center: A 17,000-square-foot facility for the highest standards of modern business

Milutin Milanković Boulevard is an extremely popular location for investors, and there is already 200,000 square meters of office space of the highest category.

RGZ report: Real estate and land are mostly bought for cash

Out of every thousand euros set aside during the last month for the purchase of an apartment, house, land or some other real estate in Serbia, 850 euros were given - in cash.

Alexandru Cristea is appointed to the CEE Managing Partner.

ONLINE REAL ASSETS - The Proptech real estate expert announced today that it has appointed Alexandru Cristea the CEE Managing Partner. Mr. Cristea will have responsibility of running operations and business development across the CEE region. Based in Budapest, he brings over a decade of experience in business development and Proptech solutions. “Alex has a broad understanding of the digital needs in today’s real estate market as well as an impressive track record of project execution and delivery for landlords, asset managers and developers. His expertise and strategic mindset will contribute to our growth strategy across the CEE and reinforce our position of being the first Proptech startup hub” said Vincent Vallois, Co-Founder of Online Real Assets.