Romania’s commercial real estate investment market recorded transactions totaling EUR 386 million in the first half of 2025, reflecting a 7.4% decrease compared to the same period last year, according to iO Partners. Despite the overall decline, the office segment showed signs of renewed investor interest, attracting EUR 169 million, or 44% of the total volume – marking a notable recovery after two years of stagnation.
Retail assets followed closely with EUR 163 million in transactions, representing 42% of the total, while the remaining volume was split between industrial properties and hotels.
“This marks the first time in two years that real liquidity has returned to the office segment, after a prolonged period during which it was almost completely off the investors’ radar. The rebound reflects both a narrowing of the gap between buyer and seller price expectations and a renewed confidence in the outlook for the office market,” reads the iO Partners press release.
Foreign investors continued to dominate the Romanian real estate market, accounting for approximately EUR 253 million of the total volume. Domestic capital contributed EUR 133 million, with notable acquisitions made by Alfa Group and Pavăl Holding, who purchased part of the Iride platform and the Ethos House office building, respectively.
Despite these transactions, Romanian investment remains below regional levels, and the market still relies heavily on cross-border capital, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
The two largest transactions in the first half of 2025 involved both office and retail assets. Granit Asset Management entered the Romanian market with the purchase of the Equilibrium 1 office building in Bucharest, developed by Skanska and offering 20,700 sqm of leasable space. Meanwhile, M Core acquired a portfolio of seven retail parks totaling over 32,000 square meters, located in cities across Romania, from MAS REI. iO Partners represented the buyers in both transactions.
Prime shopping center yields compressed slightly in Q2, from 8% to 7.75%. Yields for office assets remained stable at 7.75%, while industrial yields held steady at 8%.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
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