Romania’s office investment market opens 2026 stronger

Romania’s commercial property market opened 2026 with its strongest first quarter for office investment in a decade. According to Colliers, office transactions in the country are set to total around EUR 130 million by the end of January to March, more than triple the average first-quarter level recorded over the previous 10 years for office buildings. Published on March 26, the update offered one of the clearest signs so far that investors are returning to Romanian office assets despite weak macroeconomic growth, fiscal tightening and persistent geopolitical uncertainty.

Office investment in Romania reached about EUR 130 million

The quarter was driven by three major transactions. The first was the sale of the second building in the Equilibrium scheme in Bucharest, which Skanska sold for EUR 37 million to Magyar Posta Takarék Real Estate Investment Fund, managed by Gránit Asset Management. The second was the sale of the @Expo office campus in northern Bucharest by Atenor. The third was the acquisition of Record Park in Cluj-Napoca by BT Property through INNO Investments. Colliers said those three transactions made early 2026 the strongest opening to a year for Romania’s office investment segment in the past 10 years.

Colliers added that the first two deals, on which it advised the sellers, represented around 75% of the roughly EUR 130 million total. The profile of the buyers also matters. The company said the transactions involved new or relatively new entrants to the local market, pointing not only to a one-off spike in activity but also to a broader investor base willing to consider Romanian office property while many European markets are still adjusting valuations and liquidity expectations.

The deals that lifted Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca office activity

The Equilibrium 2 transaction is particularly telling for Bucharest. Skanska said it sold the asset for EUR 37 million. The building, completed in late 2022, offers about 20,000 square metres of premium leasable office space in the Floreasca-Barbu Vacarescu area, one of the capital’s most important office submarkets. The asset was only almost 50% leased at the time of sale, suggesting that investors are willing to buy not only fully stabilised properties but also assets with room for rental upside.

The @Expo transaction confirms continued appetite for large, modern and sustainability-led office schemes in northern Bucharest. Atenor’s project includes around 50,000 square metres of gross leasable area, 740 underground parking spaces and about 3,200 square metres of retail on the ground floor. The complex holds a BREEAM Outstanding certification, placing it among the higher-quality sustainable office assets in the market.

The Record Park acquisition adds an important regional dimension. BT Property said it bought the scheme in Cluj-Napoca from Belgium’s AYA Properties Fund. After the transaction, the fund’s portfolio totals roughly 43,000 square metres of leasable area and around EUR 79 million in managed assets. Record Park itself is an AAA office complex with approximately 15,000 square metres, a BREEAM Excellent certification and, according to the buyer, maximum occupancy since launch.

Why investors are revisiting Romanian offices

Colliers links the renewed interest in offices not only to pricing but also to changes in workplace patterns. The advisory firm says companies have increasingly been encouraging employees to return to the office for more days each week in order to improve collaboration, productivity and team cohesion. For investors, that matters because a more durable occupier base improves the visibility of rental income and supports underwriting assumptions for better-quality assets.

The structure of vacancy also supports the segment more than headline market softness might suggest. Colliers notes that 2025 net absorption was one of the weakest on record, but vacancies are unevenly distributed. In modern, well-located class A buildings, vacancy rates are often in the low single digits or even zero. A significant part of the vacant stock sits in less attractive buildings with access or technical limitations.

Romania’s macro backdrop still limits the market outlook

A strong office quarter does not remove the broader economic constraints. The European Commission expects Romania’s real GDP growth to reach only 1.1% in 2026 after 0.7% in 2025. It says fiscal consolidation will keep weighing on both private and public consumption, while the general government deficit is projected at 6.2% of GDP in 2026 after 8.4% in 2025. The Commission also forecasts inflation at 5.9% in 2026.

Romania’s central bank offered a softer end-year inflation path in February, raising its forecast for end-2026 inflation to 3.9% from 3.7% and expecting a decline to 2.7% by end-2027. Even so, the forecast was presented with clear caution as policymakers continue to navigate political uncertainty, energy-price effects and fiscal measures that are not yet fully settled. For property investors, that means the rebound in deal activity is taking place despite the macro backdrop rather than because conditions have turned clearly supportive.

Can 2026 become a stronger year for Romanian real estate investment

Colliers says that, absent major shocks, Romania’s total real estate investment volume in 2026 could exceed the long-term annual average of roughly EUR 800 million across all segments. The firm also points to a broader European trend in which capital is expected to remain active and yields may begin to compress in some markets, a pattern that historically has been followed by similar moves in Central and Eastern Europe, including Romania. That provides an argument for a gradual improvement in local liquidity.

Still, the current performance should not yet be mistaken for a full market reset. Colliers itself notes that the present office volume remains below historical peaks of EUR 400 million to EUR 500 million per quarter, recorded in late 2022 and in the third quarter of 2020 after large portfolio acquisitions by Pavăl Holding and AFI Europe. In other words, the market is showing renewed activity, but not a return to the strongest levels of earlier cycles.

As International Investment experts note, the strong first quarter of 2026 in Romania’s office segment is meaningful, but it is still too early to treat it as final proof of a durable recovery across the whole investment market. The deals clearly show appetite for quality assets in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, yet demand is still concentrated in a limited number of large transactions while the macroeconomic backdrop remains soft and fiscal and inflation risks have not disappeared. The critical test for the market will be whether momentum survives into the second and third quarters without relying on a handful of headline deals.

FAQ

What happened in Romania’s office property market in the first quarter of 2026

According to Colliers, office investment transactions in Romania are set to reach about EUR 130 million in the first quarter of 2026. That marks the strongest start to a year for the segment in the past decade and more than triple the average January-March level seen over the previous 10 years.

Which deals were the largest office transactions in Romania in early 2026

The biggest deals included the sale of Equilibrium 2 in Bucharest to a fund managed by Gránit Asset Management, the sale of the @Expo campus in Bucharest and the acquisition of Record Park in Cluj-Napoca by BT Property through INNO Investments.

Why are investors buying Romanian offices again

Colliers points to a combination of factors including improved sentiment toward offices as more employees return in person, continued demand for high-quality modern buildings and the arrival of new buyers into the local market. Demand remains concentrated in the best assets.

What risks still face Romania’s commercial real estate market

The main risks include weak economic growth, fiscal consolidation, still elevated inflation and the potential for external shocks. The European Commission expects Romania’s economy to grow by only 1.1% in 2026, keeping the broader backdrop cautious.

Does a strong first quarter mean a lasting market recovery

Not yet. It is a strong signal, but not definitive proof of a full recovery. The market was helped by three sizeable transactions, and current volumes remain below the peaks seen in previous years. The next quarters will determine whether the rebound is broadening or remains deal-specific.