Romania lost its seventh spot and fell to tenth this year in the country ranking of shopping center pipeline space, and 2010 is expected to be a year of preparatory work rather than of shopping center completion, said Razvan Gheorghe, head of Cushman & Wakefield Romania.
Last year, Romania has had one of the steepest falls in shopping center development level, as a large number of pipeline schemes have been put on hold, which placed the country to tenth spot from seventh a year earlier.
Development is expected to slow to 130,000 sqm in 2011, compared with the peak of around 750,000 sqm in 2008, Cushman & Wakefield said in a research.
“The upturn in shopping center development will take place only after improvement in the jobs market and after banks regain confidence in the real estate sector. In our opinion, 2010 will be a year of preparatory work for future developments, with completion timed in the years ahead when the Romanian economy should be in recovery mode,” said Razvan Gheorghe (photo), partner and managing director Cushman & Wakefield.
In the Romanian shopping center market, around 650,000 sqm are due to be completed this year, but only half of this space will actually come on-stream, said the head of Cushman & Wakefield in fall last year.
Cushman & Wakefield is one of the largest property consultant in the real estate market, with a turnover of 5.4 million in 2008. The company has 230 offices across 58 countries and employs over 15,000 persons.
