Real estate investment turnover in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reached EUR 5.3 bn in H1 2011, reflecting continued strong growth in the prime segment, according to the latest data from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). The H1 figure brings the year-to-date investment volume in the region close to the full-year 2010 level of EUR 5.6 bn.

Patrick O’Gorman, director of CEE Capital Markets at CBRE, said recovery of liquidity in CEE's property investment markets has been variable, with markets with strong prime fundamentals showing a significant uptick in activity. 'Notably in Warsaw and Moscow, but also in Czech Republic some large transactions have been closed,' he said. 'The level of activity we are currently registering is close to that registered in H1 2006 and H1 2008 and remains around 30-35% below the peak achieved in the period H2 2006 - H2 2007.'

Jos Tromp, head of CEE Research and Consultancy at CBRE, noted that investors remain wary of secondary locations where properties are still much more difficult to trade. 'Before this "secondary" part of the market starts moving we cannot really speak about a broad recovery yet,' he said.