Andrei Văcaru, Head of Capital Markets CEE at iO Partners and moderator of the “Market Growth Projections” panel discussion held at CEDER 2025 highlighted the fact that post-pandemic structural shifts have been driving a change in focus, prompting investors and developers to explore new and emerging sectors and sometimes broaden their horizons beyond traditional asset classes.

Anca Merdescu, Head of Investments at Square 7, part of M Core, talked about a shift of focus towards the industrial sector. She also believes residential is a sector with “structural significant demand, which is not yet covered by the current supply”. Similarly, Aurelia Luca, Executive Vice President Operations Hungary and Romania at Skanska noted they are “looking in the region to residential for rent and mainly under the PRS umbrella”, planning projects in Poland and the Czech Republic and anticipating the trend will most probably follow to Hungary and Romania, where demand appears strong.

Vlad Dragoescu, Director, CEE Head of Portfolio Management at Revetas Capital expressed their interest in “a lot of segments, from PRS, resi to sell, to assisted living, student housing and so on”, segments which are still not present on the Romanian market.

Miroslav Tavel, Managing Partner at OPC Holding, whose core focus is retail parks, expects segments which haven’t yet come to Romania, “as these self-storage or renting homes” to be represented on the market, “in maybe [the] next five years”.

Silviu Toma, Executive Director, Project and Corporate Structured Finance at Raiffeisen Bank, indicated the bank is “very much focused on retail […] together with logistic and industrial”, while also seeing potential in “specialized real estate projects, like clinics, hospitals, schools, resi for lease, entertainment mixed with residential”, noting that these fields offer “plenty of room to grow”. He added that “the groups of companies, […] big developers, usually they have a core part, but […] they are looking to expand in other secondary fields in real estate to improve the picture of the group and the benefits.”

However, entering these newer areas requires careful consideration. As Vlad Dragoescu pointed out, exploring segments like assisted living or student housing necessitates the “entire infrastructure, you need both the equity and the debt component to be adapted to that specific type of business in order to support the cash flow at least in the initial maturity phasing”. Anca Merdescu added that her company explores new sectors alongside a local partner or developer, deeming it “essential for entering a new asset class”.

The company Bucur SA, controlled by Longshield Investment Group (formerly SIF Muntenia), is in talks with the spouses Corina and Sebastian Bălășescu, the founders of Urgent Curier, for the acquisition of the CSDA Siriului office building, in northern Bucharest, at a price of EUR 7.4 million.

The office building, called the Business Support and Development Center (CSDA) Siriului, is structured on a basement, ground floor, 5 floors, plus a secluded 6th floor, has a developed area of about 5,000 square meters and a rentable area of about 3,600 square meters. The building was built by the real estate developer Primavera Development.

Bucur SA shareholders are to approve the acquisition, on the occasion of which they also want to change their object of activity to renting and subletting their own or rented real estate.

Source: Profit.ro

Discussions during the “Market Growth Projections” panel held at CEDER 2025 touched upon the role of financing in Romania’s market, revealing both signs of support from the banks, and areas needing structural change, with some investors highlighting specific practices they see as barriers to liquidity and growth.

Silviu Toma, Executive Director, Project and Corporate Structured Finance, at Raiffeisen Bank conveyed the bank’s long-standing dedication to the sector, stating, “we always supported [the] real estate market, and we are trying also to do this right now”. He indicated that the bank is actively adapting its approach, reviewing criteria and credit policies more often due to market volatility, unlike years past when policies remained static.

He affirmed, “the criteria are much more relaxed” today compared to 12 months ago. He believes the investment and development markets should be more substantial in Romania, stating, “we have potential, we have fundamentals”. Silviu Toma also detailed risks recently encountered, including hedging risk, the inability to transfer costs to tenants, leverage, and aggressive valuations. He mentioned efforts to “reduce the amortization of the loans” and be “much more flexible in terms of excess cash” to provide project buffers.

When it comes to asset classes, looking ahead, Raiffeisen is focusing on the retail, logistics, and industrial sectors, while being cautious about office due to occupancy uncertainty, and seeing potential in specialised real estate like clinics and residential for lease.

However, some of the investors taking part in the discussion voiced criticisms regarding financing practices. Joao Saracho de Almeida, Managing Director at Solida Capital Europe, found Romanian amortisation rates notably high, “completely unheard of in other countries”. He urged Romanian banks to “converge more with what is the practice in Germany, in Poland, in even Hungary”. He also felt local banks were not “really hungry for real estate business”, leading investors to use external banks with “non-standard conditions”. He concluded that “there should be a different proactivity from [the] financing sector.”

Vlad Dragoescu, Director, CEE Head of Portfolio Management at Revetas Capital, also noted that the banks’ preference to lend to the state due to the public deficit means “we won’t see liquidity debt in the market”, which might lead to a looming “financing wall”.

Anca Merdescu, Head of Investments at Square 7, part of M Core, summarized the tight relationship between financing and investment by saying: “financing, it’s a very important aspect of any investing, I would say. […] But, […] I think it’s a mix of collaboration between the banks and the investors in order to make this liquidity happen.”