The Romanian economy set a high bar in 2017 for this year, after delivering some of the best results in the post-crisis period. Macro fundamentals do not look as rock solid as they did a few years ago, exposing the economy a bit more in case of internal/external turbulence – and as we have seen in the last decade, each year brings at least a couple of major unforeseen events. However, Romania is still expected to outperform most European economies.
We believe a glass half-full approach is warranted, as Romania is still expected to outperform most European economies on favourable momentum for domestic demand, supporting another good year for real estate. Here are the top 10 themes we are looking for at the start of the year:
- Romanian economy to slow down, but outperform most EU countries;
- Investment scene to steal the show;
- Migration (internal and external) becoming ever more relevant;
- Industrial segment to continue delivering very strong results;
- Infrastructure constraints to remain in place;
- Bucharest office market to focus on new hotspots;
- Labour market becoming quite stretched;
- Balanced Bucharest retail scene, ample room for smaller schemes nationwide;
- Online retail, still no immediate threat for brick and mortar schemes;
- Residential segment to remain the all-star driver for land demand.
