Emerging Europe: War reinforces weak values outlook

The war in Ukraine will have spillover effects for property in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), albeit that Russia will be far worst hit. Economic growth is expected to be slower, which will weigh on property demand, while inflation and interest rates will rise faster. We still think that office and retail rents in the CEE region can return to growth this year, but the recovery is likely to be slower than previously expected. With bond yields already higher, we think that there is less scope for further falls in property yields this year and that they will rise more quickly from next year than we previously forecast. Overall, this reinforces what was already a weak outlook for property values.