The interest of foreign investors in acquiring real estate in Romania has grown significantly since the January 1, 2014 expiration of the country’s prohibition against EU citizens and businesses acquiring agricultural land. Land is available at competitive prices, compared with many other European countries, and other advantages include the facts that Romania holds an important share of the European crop land due to its grain production, has a favorable position within export routes, has high-quality soil, and has a climate suitable for a wide range of agricultural investments.

Contrary to all expectations, Hungary still does not require the use of building information electronic modelling (BIM) tools in tenders for public works contracts, despite the excitement in the construction industry about the possibility that the tools would be made mandatory as early as 2014.

Ukrainian commercial and residential real estate markets continue to be dynamic and are becoming more and more attractive to both local and foreign investors. The new Ukrainian Parliament, elected in summer 2019, has already passed some laws necessary for the development of the real estate sector and attracting investments to it. Below you will find an overview of the most significant changes in Ukrainian real estate legislation regarding buildings and construction in 2019.

Ukraine continues to bring its legislation in line with EU legislation, fulfilling its obligations under the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine. One of the ways to improve the laws of Ukraine is to establish a relationship between the consumers, producers, and sellers of goods – especially of non-industrial use goods.

A recent report found that, in 2018, 72.2% of Montenegrin citizens had online access from home, with Internet access via mobile phones increasingly common as well. In terms of mobile and Internet service, Montenegro is not behind other countries from the region or Europe at large, but digital technologies are used far less in areas such as economy or education. Information technologies are most commonly used for Internet browsing and social network communication, but are rarely used for communication with public administrations, local governments, and other service providers, which indicates the society’s insufficient digital advancement.

The widespread perception remains that the real estate market in CEE is undervalued and continues to offer exciting opportunities for investors. It would seem this is with good reason and early signs suggest that this year we may approach record levels of activity in the sector.