The Quiet Outperformers in the Heart of Europe
Cloudy no more—these markets might be having their time in the sun. These are the CRE updates you won't want to miss.
📆 September 12, 2025
Central and Eastern Europe aren’t just trending for their aesthetic this year, but for its property markets, too. The center and east are delivering one of the strongest commercial real estate investment upticks on the continent, with investment volumes across seven countries at €5.4 billion in the first half of this year. That’s a massive 51% year-on-year jump.
Of the seven markets tracked, the Czech Republic took pole position, raking in €2 billion in investment (up 187%) with the potential for a record-breaking year. Poland, long the regional anchor, posted €1.7 billion, holding a 32% market share despite a modest pullback from a strong 2024. Slovakia punched above its weight with 315% growth, fueled by industrial megadeals like Blackstone’s €470 million ConteraPortfolio acquisition. Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania all showed double-digit growth, underscoring the region’s breadth and intensity of momentum. Read our investment market update for the full picture.
Simply clever investment
Central and Eastern Europe’s success is closely tied to trends seen across the region. Low unemployment (Czech Republic leading at just 2.5%), stable consumer confidence and monetary easing has materially changed the math.
There are underlying structural forces at play, too. EU-sponsored funding is being deployed in pieces as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan program, a €800+ billion NextGenerationEU initiative created to help countries recover and innovate after the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The NRRP’s spending focuses on infrastructure, digitalization, and energy transition projects across the bloc. Those investments are a macro stimulus, and they directly enhance commercial real estate fundamentals.
Paired with CEE’s attractive pricing (compared to its western counterparts), these factors paint a compelling picture. Central and Eastern Europe are not just benefiting from a global hunt for yield, but from structural catalysts that give the region a glow heading into 2026.
Ambitious commitments
OpenAI and Oracle, legacy software giant, penned the largest cloud contract in history this week. The breaking news sent Oracle shares soaring +36% in just one day and made Larry Ellison the richest person in the world (for now).
The fine print OpenAI will pay Oracle $300 billion over the next five years starting in 2027 (nearly five times its current $13B/year revenue). Whether the OpenAI team is counting their chickens before they hatch or leaning on good-old-fashioned manifestation, CFO Sarah Friar reported that this year’s revenue is already triple 2024 numbers.
What’s less abstract is the physical footprint needed to power these contracts. In our latest data center update, we reported that leasing activity is setting records, and vacancy rates in top markets like Northern Virginia, Dallas, and Chicago are plunging below 2%. The capacity crunch, and a voracious power demand, are very real as AI firms race to secure megawatts faster than utilities can greenlight new substations. Find out which markets are growing fast.
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