Market analysis: Dwelling prices to stabilize this year

 Residential Complex Maresal Averescu

The evolution of the real estate sector in the first half of 2014 proves a tendency of price stabilization. National prices have reached 757 euro/sqm for new dwellings and 644 euro/sqm, for old dwellings, according to a market analysis performed by real estate consultancy firm Darian.

"Prices at national level have fallen dramatically from the half of 2008 until today. Old apartments have registered a decline of approximately

 Residential Complex Maresal Averescu

40%, while new apartment prices have dropped 33%. The small price variations in the past 6 months have been perceived by the free market as rather price stagnation. This is a good sign, though, an optimist sign for the residential market, where we estimate medium and long term growth." said Adrian Crivii, president of consultancy firm Darian.

Bucharest ranks first in terms of average transaction prices for old apartments, with an average of 956 euro/sqm, closely followed by

 Residential Complex Maresal Averescu

Cluj-Napoca with 932 euro/sqm,  Timisoara ranking third with 860 euro/sqm.

Against the beginning of the crisis, old apartment prices dropped in Bucharest by around 60%, the decline leveraging in the past 6 months, when prices have remained constant. 

Newly built apartment prices have stagnated in the past 6 months, the national average reaching 757 euro/sqm.

Bucharest topped the new apartment price value. Average prices have reached around 1,137 euro/sqm – the only city in Romania with prices over 1,000 euro/sqm - 45% down on the same period from the beginning of the crisis and stagnated against the previous semester. 

The average transaction prices have seen a slight fall of around 1% at national level.

 Residential Complex Maresal Averescu

Of all the real estate sectors, the lands have registered the most dramatic decline from the beginning of the real estate crisis. The decline at national level is around 63%.

OCTAGON  CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING has not built many residential buildings, but the projects delivered were major for the company’s portfolio.

One of the first projects built by OCTAGON was a residential complex consisting of three buildings, located on 159 Maresal Averescu Blvd.

For more information click HERE. 

 

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING

Phone: (+4)021.232.39.20

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ZF: Best business centers in Bucharest. Octagon, contractor within 6 of them

 

Sky Tower

Ziarul Financiar has interviewed eight real estate consultancy firms to draw up a top of the business centers that suit best the criteria of the companies looking for new headquarters. Extremely dynamic on the office market, in the past years, OCTAGON has been contractor within 6 of these projects.

Victoria Center building on Calea Victoriei, Sky Tower near Promenada Mall, where OCTAGON has performed infrastructure works in top- down system and AFI Business Park near AFI Palace Cotroceni Mall are the office projects in Bucharest that fit most of the criteria.

Victoria Center is the most attractive office building in Bucharest, with a leasable area under 10,000 sqm, Sky Tower is the brokers’ favorite building over 10,000 sqm, while AFI Park is the highest rated business park, according to the analysis which took ten criteria into account.

Olympia Tower

The projects divided into three categories – under 10,000 sqm, over 10,000 sqm and business parks – have been graded from 5 to 1 upon 10 criteria: technical specifications, access, space efficiency, operational efficiency, visibility and design, quality of administration services, building and surrounding facilities, price/quality ration, high parking rate and good reputation of existing tenants.

Green Gate

Located in a central area, on Decebal Blvd., Olympia Tower office building is one of the most modern in Bucharest, with an area under 10,000 sqm. OCTAGON has performed the infrastructure works (diaphragm walls, bored piles, general excavation, crown beam) and superstructure works for this building.

Among buildings with areas over 10,000 sqm, Green Gate, located on Tudor Vladimirescu Blvd. in Bucharest is one of the most recently delivered. OCTAGON has been specialized contractor for the office building and has performed geotechnical works: diaphragm walls, bored piles, dewatering systems and crown beam. The building has 10 floors and a 39,000 sqm total area.

Hermes Business Campus

Green Court Bucharest- Building A

OCTAGON has also been involved in the construction of two of the largest office parks in Bucharest: Hermes Business Campus (Dimitrie Pompeiu Blvd.) and Green Court Bucharest (Gara Herastrau St.). The company was general contractor for the first office building within the complex. After delivering building A of Green Court Bucharest complex, developed by real estate giant Skanska, OCTAGON is continuing the superstructure works to building B, which will be delivered this year.

Green Court Bucharest- Building B

On the list of projects built by OCTAGON, listed in ZF top there is also Floreasca Park, located in northern Bucharest on Pipera Road. OCTAGON was specialized contractor and performed geotechnical works within the building.  

For more information click HERE. 

 

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING

Phone: (+4)021.232.39.20

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How to avoid Construction Cost Control Nightmares

Nightmares still happen to even the biggest construction projects, where costs and revenue are not properly estimated, Construction Global writes.

Construction is all about estimating costs, then balancing income against expenditure. At least in modern times. The builders of the pyramids had armies of slaves to construct their magnificent monuments, plus the resources of an empire, so costs didn’t matter. Nowadays, construction companies must operate like street magicians who keep plates spinning in the air.

Inevitably though, once the plate marked ‘costs’ starts to wobble, those marked ‘income’ and ‘expenditure’ also go out of control … Such construction cost estimating issues are spreading fast, even to Germany’s oft-praised economy. So why do such nightmares happen?

Don’t get drawn in by ‘the vision’

Sometimes the architect’s vision is so compelling that it receives a green flag, when it deserves the red. Britain’s most spectacular example is Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament. In 1997, its cost was estimated at between £10m and £40m; and the yawning gap really should have set alarm bells ringing.

Instead though, the building went ahead and opened in 2005, three years late, and with a price-tag more than ten-fold the highest ‘estimate’ at £430m. By 2013, annual maintenance costs had soared to £1.7m, mainly through shoddy construction techniques, and in 2014, demolition was suggested as the most cost-effective option.

Client control nightmares

Budgets can also go awry because clients just can’t stop tinkering. Research by Reading University’s Simon Jackson concluded: “Clients are the key drivers of change, and must look at themselves, before blaming the industry for being inefficient.”

A cost control nightmare of Olympic proportions

On occasions too, projects can be judged so important for a nation’s status that a government blithely ignores the estimated

cost. Topping this global League of Shame is the 2004 Olympic Games, intended to herald Greece’s renaissance, but which became a symbol of its subsequent economic collapse. Even years later, as its stadia have become ivy-clad ruins and grand highways lie crumbling, no-one knows the final bill. The Socialist Party which was in power claims 4.8bn Euros, the opposition reckons 10bn, and both estimates ignore the cost of a new airport and high-speed tram network for Athens

So what’s the most obvious solution to cost control nightmares?

Use specialist construction cost estimating software to properly estimate the cost and then keep expenditure and revenue in synch. Then even if clients feel the need to tinker, you’ll have the certainty and precision to understand the potential impact of their variations.

Beware the temptation of being unrealistically optimistic – both from the client’s and your point of view.

Keep the clients in check – if their demands become unrealistic within the budget, tell them early.

OCTAGON assigned general subcontractor to PC Business Center office building, located in northern Bucharest

                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Press Release August 14^th 2014

OCTAGON assigned general subcontractor to PC Business Center office building, located in northern Bucharest

      Contract value: 2 mil. Euro

      Office building located on Bucharest- Ploiesti Road

      Height: 11 Floors

Bucharest, August 14^th 2014: OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING, a company specialized in civil and geotechnical construction works, has become general subcontractor for an office building- PC Business Center, located in the north of the capital. Construction works are worth approximately 2 million Euro.

PC Business Center is located on 7-9 Bucharest- Ploiesti road. The building has two underground and 9 ground levels and is located near Sector 1 City Hall. Iridex Group Import Export is the developer and general contractor of the project.

OCTAGON took over the project in the autumn of 2013, as specialized contractor, and has performed special foundation and infrastructure works: diaphragm walls D 600, bored piles D 620,crown beam, excavation and metal retaining systems, dewatering systems, foundation raft S2, S1, hydroinsulation of underground and water basin. Works were completed in May 2014.

The execution of the superstructure works has been added to the initial contract and OCTAGON has become general subcontractor to PC Business Center. Construction works have reached the 3^rd level of the building. This is one of the three major office projects built by OCTAGON in Bucharest, between 2013- 2014, along Green Court Bucharest (2-4 Gara Herastrau St.) and Hermes Business Campus (7- 9 Dimitrie Pompeiu Blvd.).

“Although according to statistics 2013 was a slower year for the construction market than the previous year, 2013 and 2014 have been intense growth years for OCTAGON, characterized by contracting major projects, especially in the office and infrastructure sectors. PC Business Center is a new opportunity to prove our ability to execute all the works included in a project: special foundations, infrastructure and superstructure.”  said Alexandros Ignatiadis, co- founder and shareholder of OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING.

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING (www.octagon.com.ro ) is a Romanian company set up in 2005, headquartered in Bucharest. The company also has a branch in Baghdad (Iraq).  With a 19.6 million euro in 2013, large scale projects in Romania, Iraq, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, OCTAGON is one of the main players in the civil and geotechnical construction sectors, in Romania.

Among the reference works performed by OCTAGON in Romania there are: the office complex Green Court Bucharest (Gara Herastrau Street- Bucharest), the tallest office building in Bucharest Sky Tower (Barbu Vacarescu Blvd.), the office building Olympia Tower (Decebal Blvd.- Bucharest) and the Combined Cycle Power Plant 867 MW OMV- Petrom (Brazi- Prahova county).

Contact

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING

Corina Ilie

Public Relations Specialist

Tel: (+40) 769 249 286

E-mail: c.ilie@octagon.com.ro