Hanner invests EUR 37 mln in residential project in Bucharest

Hanner Group has sold about a third of the 69 apartments that form part of the first block of The Park, a EUR 37 million residential project the Lithuanian real estate developer is developing near Tineretului Park in Bucharest. Hanner has previously been involved as a partner in the development of City Center Residence and Carol Park Residence in the capital, but The Park is the first project it is developing on its own on the local market.

Construction of the first block began last year and was completed in the first semester of this year. Another three blocks will be built as part of the same project by 2017. The Park will comprise 460 apartments and will require a total investment of about EUR 37 million, the money coming entirely from the developer’s own funds, said Mindaugas Valuckas, the company’s CEO, last week.

The target is to sell at least five apartments per week, a level that has been met so far, he added. Should sales go above 10 units per month, the developer will consider increasing prices. At present, a studio in the project costs EUR 55,000, a one-bedroom unit is on the market for EUR 75,000 and prices reach EUR 95,000 for two-bedroom flats and EUR 125,000 for the three-bedroom ones.

Hanner Group decided to start the project last year mainly because it owned the land, said Mindaugas. Also, although “the local residential market is not booming, there is potential. It should improve, but more in terms of quantity. I don’t expect a price increase,” said Mindaugas adding that he believes local buyers will start looking beyond the price and become more demanding in terms of quality and energy efficiency.

The plot of land on which the project is being built was bought in 2006 and the developer planned to start the project before the crisis but was forced to postpone it.

Hanner Group is currently developing about 1,000 apartments in eight European cities. The firm has been active in real estate for more than 20 years and owns assets – residential, office, commercial and logistics – worth approximately EUR 1 billion. It is present in the Baltic States, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and is preparing residential projects in Germany and the UK.

Simona Bazavan