Last year’s record-breaking €12.2bn investment in the real estate sector in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region is likely to be surpassed in 2017 – this is according to CEE Real Estate Investment Compass 2017 published by Colliers International and law firm CMS.

The sources of investment flows into the CEE region are also expected to remain diverse in 2017, with Asian and CEE investors becoming increasingly active in the real estate market.

The report examines key trends in the real estate market in six Central Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania) over the last five years, and takes a look at what is on the horizon for 2017.

In the first quarter of 2017, preliminary real estate investment in the CEE-6 markets stood at €2.3bn, representing a 41% and 45% increase compared with Q1 2016 and Q1 2015 respectively.

Based on the estimated Q1 2017 figures, Czech Republic has received 62% of the total real estate investment in CEE. Preliminary indications from the first quarter of 2017 also suggest continued significant local investor activity in Hungary and the Czech Republic and the entry of Thai investors into the latter and Poland.