Budapest is not the only place in Hungary to invest; rural areas also promise good returns – Last year saw record investments in the country.
Hungary to showcase industrial real estate and premium offices at MIPIM.
The industrial real-estate market, as well as logistics, office and hotel development projects will be in focus at the Hungary-Budapest stand at MIPIM, one of the world’s premier real-estate development exhibitions. The aim of the Hungary-Budapest stand is to promote investment in the capital and cities around the country, to showcase the investment environment in Hungary, and to provide information about development targets and opportunities. It was jointly designed by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) and the Real Estate Developers’ Roundtable Association (IFK), with Liget Budapest Project and the National Industrial Park Management and Development Company (NIPÜF) as featured exhibitors. Its professional sponsor will be CBRE, the world’s leading real-estate consultancy firm. The most important property developers on the market, including ATENOR, GLP, GTC, HelloParks (member of Futureal Group), InfoGroup, Inpark and WING, will be present at the top-of-the-line international event to showcase their latest ongoing environmentally conscious and sustainable projects. Two of Hungary’s university cities, Debrecen and Szeged, will also be featured. CBRE will share its latest analyses at the roundtable discussions at the Hungary-Budapest stand, while Diófa Fund Management Ltd. will present the macroeconomic and investment environment in Hungary, along with investment opportunities offered by real-estate funds. György Habsburg, Hungary’s Ambassador to Paris, will be the guest of honour at the Hungary-Budapest stand.
Ernő Takács, President of the Real Estate Developers’ Roundtable Association (IFK), an organisation that unites the largest property developers in Hungary, said that last year the logistics and office markets performed particularly well, and that major changes are also expected in the hotel market. So it is no coincidence that these are the three focus areas at the exhibition.
Opportunities in Hungary are demonstrated by the fact that 300,000 m² of office space was delivered last year, and demand has kept up with supply. The logistics market is expanding at a pace unseen for years, with supply growth of around 400,000 m² in Budapest in 2022, and demand exceeding 500,000 m². The total area of industrial properties grew to 4.5 million m² nationwide, with over 3 million m² in Budapest and the area surrounding it. And there are plans to add nearly 1 million m², of which nearly 500,000 m² is already under construction, according to CBRE data. The President of IFK highlighted that Hungary will mainly showcase industrial properties at the Hungary-Budapest stand, which have plenty of potential, as the Hungarian industrial real-estate market is the one that sells best abroad. He mentioned that energy efficiency and minimising carbon emissions are also a priority when industrial parks are being expanded. He said that high-quality industrial properties now get 20-30% of their energy from solar power, which is a huge step towards a greener world. In the hotel segment, development projects are focused on increasing the attractiveness of both Budapest and destinations outside the capital. According to Ernő Takács, the future lies in business hotels in smaller cities and towns as well as quality tourism-related developments in Budapest, citing the recent elements of the Liget Budapest Project as an example.
Benedek Gyorgyevics, CEO of Városliget Zrt, the company behind the Liget Budapest Project, said, “We are proud to return to the exhibition, as last year the House of Music, Hungary was the first Hungarian development to win the Jury Grand Prize in the three-decade history of the MIPIM Awards, the most prestigious international real-estate award.” The popularity of the new elements of Europe’s largest cultural investment project has exceeded all expectations, with almost 5 million visitors enjoying the modern, renovated facilities, brand new buildings and the rejuvenated parts of the park in the last two years. The CEO explained that Liget Budapest’s schedule is set to continue towards full implementation with the construction of the House of Innovation, Hungary, Városliget Theatre and the New National Gallery, designed by the Pritzker Prize winning Japanese architectural firm SANAA.
Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) CEO István Joó reported that a record EUR 6.5 billion of investment came into Hungary last year, and that an even stronger year is expected in 2023. Up to 92 large foreign direct investment (FDI) deals were closed, creating some 15,000 new jobs and retaining tens of thousands more, he said. FDI was also balanced in terms of geographical origin, with 48% of capital investment coming from the East and 42% from the West, while investments by Hungarian companies accounted for 10% of the volume. Among individual countries, South Korea invested almost EUR 2.8 billion in Hungary last year, with one in four new jobs and one in ten projects being linked to South Korea. German companies accounted not only for 30% of investment volume, but also for the largest number of projects (25), and paved the way to hire six thousand new employees through their investments. The latter represented 40% of all new jobs created in 2022. Well-capitalised Hungarian firms created 11% of new jobs, and their share of the project pipeline is even more significant, amounting to 20%. In terms of sectors, electronics attracted 43% of total investment volume, and the majority of that was implemented in the e-mobility domain. Together, the automotive and food industries accounted for 37% of all projects and 44% of new jobs, ” István Joó highlighted.
Béla Köves, National Industrial Park Management and Development Company (NIPÜF) CEO spoke about the robust demand for industrial parks. He stressed that NIPÜF entered the industrial property development market in 2016 as a state-owned company, and became known under the INPARK brand. The industrial property development group is present in 17 cities in Hungary, covering close to 900 hectares, and controls the largest development-targeted plot portfolio on the Hungarian market. 2022 was the Group’s most dynamic year, with the delivery of nearly 80,000 m² of halls on five sites, including for Airbus Helicopters and Honeywell. Among the many industrial properties built in previous years, the INPARK hall in Hatvan also houses the largest Robert Bosch regional distribution centre. Through its complex development projects, the Group helps both domestic and foreign companies find their place in Hungary, facilitates the introduction of new technologies, and helps create jobs and stimulate the economy. INPARK has now become a brand whose customers know they will receive state-of-the-art technical solutions and sustainable, cost-effective services in an investment-friendly environment, tailored to their needs – he said.
