• Total real estate investment in Central and Eastern Europe reached EUR 11.8 billion in 2025 – the strongest result in the past six years.
• The Czech Republic ranked among the region’s key growth drivers, with transaction volume reaching EUR 4.2 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 155%.
• For the first time, capital originating from the CEE region accounted for 65% of total investment activity, highlighting the growing role of local investors and reduced reliance on Western European capital.
• Investor interest returned to offices, industrial and logistics properties, as well as hotels – with hotels reaching a record share of total investment volume.
Total real estate investment across seven Central and Eastern European countries increased by 34% year-on-year in 2025 to EUR 11.8 billion, marking the strongest result in the past six years. The Czech Republic was the most dynamic market in the region, with transaction volume reaching EUR 4.2 billion, up 155% year-on-year. As a result, the Czech market accounted for approximately 36% of total regional investment volume and made a significant contribution to the overall growth of the CEE region. This is according to the CEE Investment Market Update H2 2025 published by Cushman & Wakefield.
The most notable trend of last year was the rise of domestic investors, who accounted for 65% of all transactions across the region.
While foreign capital dominated the market just a few years ago, 2025 demonstrated a strong shift towards local investors. Czech investors were not only active in their domestic market but also expanded their acquisitions into Slovakia and Poland.
Poland remained the largest investment market in the region, with a total volume of EUR 4.5 billion, driven primarily by industrial and logistics transactions. Slovakia experienced one of the strongest years in its history, largely due to several large-scale industrial estate transactions.
After a period of uncertainty, the market is returning to more stable conditions. Property prices have stabilised, financing has become more accessible again, and foreign institutional investors are gradually returning to the region,” says Marie Baláčová, Head of Business Development Services for the CEE and Nordics at Cushman & Wakefield. “In prime office buildings and logistics centres located in supply-constrained markets, prices are once again starting to edge upwards.”
Office buildings attracted the highest level of investor interest in 2025, accounting for nearly 36% of all transactions across the region. Industrial and logistics properties followed in second place, with a share of approximately 26%, supported by growing demand for warehousing linked to the expansion of e-commerce and the nearshoring of manufacturing closer to European markets. Retail properties – particularly smaller retail parks focused on daily convenience goods – maintained a stable share of over 23%. Hotels reached a record investment share of 9%, reflecting renewed investor interest in the sector after several years of cautious activity.
A key market signal is the development of prime yields, which measure annual rental income relative to the total value of a property and serve as a fundamental valuation benchmark. Following a period of rising borrowing costs, during which yields increased and property prices declined, prime yields stabilised in 2025. In prime office buildings in Prague and Warsaw, as well as logistics centres in Poland and the Czech Republic, property values have begun to rise modestly again, signalling growing investor confidence in the long-term value of these assets.
Real estate investment was also supported by strong market fundamentals. Vacancy rates in the industrial and logistics sector stabilised at approximately 6.8% across the region, while leasing demand remained robust. In the office sector, the volume of newly completed developments declined significantly across the region, gradually reducing overall vacancy levels. Hotels delivered one of their strongest operational performances on record, with average revenue per available room increasing by nearly 9% year-on-year – roughly four times the European average.
The region enters 2026 with stabilised property prices and growing investor interest. Key risks include potential escalation of geopolitical tensions, the pace of interest rate reductions, and the impact of expanding artificial intelligence adoption on demand for office space – particularly in shared services and customer support sectors, which play a key role in several Central and Eastern European markets.
